Secret Santa
by Kes-Bluehope
Summary: A Xmas Fic. Konan finds a note for her talking about a secret Santa for her this year and thinks it's from Pein. Is it from Pein? Or someone else............?
1. Mysterious Note

**Secret Santa**

**Happy Xmas 2007! This a mostly a Konan fic with a bit of Pein, my current favourite characters from Naruto that I like to write on, couldn't resist making my Xmas fanfiction for the year on them : ) This is most likely a couple part piece, it's to long as a whole one shot. Hope you enjoy this piece.**

**Konan finds a note for her talking about a secret Santa for her this year and thinks it's from Pein. Is it from Pein? Or someone else...?**

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"Uh... Just glad to be back." Konan groaned to herself as she enter the Akatsuki lair. She'd been out doing a mission for the past few day's by herself, it was an easy enough mission for someone like her but still... Couldn't wait to get home. Personally she was just surprised that Pein had sent her out to do it by herself, he was usually insistent that they did things like missions together. However, it wasn't like it was that hard, just gathering information. And there weren't really anyone else around at the time to go and do it, all off doing their own mission. She wondered whether anyone was home now... Konan told herself quickly to forget it, she could just find that out later. She needed to report back to Pein.

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"Ah, Konan. You're back." Pein commented when he saw his partner enter their room. "Much trouble?"

"Not really. Nothing I couldn't handle." Konan replied simply and walked over to him. When she reached him she pulled out some papers and such from under her cloak and handed them to him.

"Glad to hear, should've known you wouldn't have any problems and bitch about them like the other's do." Pein continued with his casual blank face and took the papers off her.

"...? Why? Worried?" Konan asked but showed no real emotion on her own face. Pein hated that at times, didn't like his partner to be showing loads of emotion. Wasn't like it all the time but... Pein didn't act like an ordinary person and you definitely had to learn about him. Konan had gotten used to Pein's everything over the loads of years that they'd been together and didn't mind like others did. She understood that her and Pein were the closest you could get in any form, it was just never really expressed with words, both them just knew and understood and expressed it in their own personal ways, to show that they cared for each other really.

Pein looked up from the documents and looked at her directly in the eye's. "I knew you could do it." He started sharply. "Just... I don't usually like sending you out on your own. We work best as a team and I like to keep it that way. Just cause some of the other's in this organisation like to work alone and don't like each other doesn't mean we're that way."

"I never said we do, Pein." Konan replied, slightly stunned that he was talking a lot more than usual. Possibly a sign that he was uncomfortable sending her out on her own or with another partner. "Personally I never did like working alone. I guess that's because we've been together so long."

"Me either. But there was no one else this time and I couldn't leave the village alone to go with you. Not again." Pein insisted, still looking deeply at her.

Konan almost smiled, this just proved what she thought. He was worried for her and he liked having her around as much as she did. It was nice to be told it from time to time. "Well... I guess that's why you made us partner's."

"Hmm?" Pein questioned, confused.

"We need each other around." Konan replied simply.

"Hmm..." Pein grunted, not wanting to admit it with words but nodded at her. "I guess you can't be with someone as long as we have without having ties."

"I couldn't have said it better. But I did miss having you."

Was that a quick smile on his face? Yes! For a quick second. But to Konan that lasted for hours, Pein never smiled. Pein quickly looked at the door of entrance and then flicked his head back towards her again, making sure no one else at that point was watching. He wrapped his arms tightly around her and pulled his face to her ear. "I missed you more than anything." He whispered quickly into her ear. He didn't really mind any of the others knowing anything about him and Konan but even he wanted a little privacy. Then let go of her and walked over to the door when he'd had enough of having her close. "I better leave, give you some privacy. I'm sure you want to go and freshen yourself up before going and doing anything else." He added in a normal tone and left their room. Konan was left standing still for a few moments, stunned, before she started getting herself ready for a shower.

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"A note?" Konan questioned when she came out of the shower and walked into her bedroom to find a piece of paper had been slipped underneath her bedroom door. She quickly fastened her bathrobe fasten, just in case there could've been someone still in there but soon realised she was alone. The blue haired girl stomped over to the note that lay on the floor and picked it up and unfolded it for her to read.

_Happy Xmas!_

_I'm you're secret Santa for this year! Of course my identity will not be shown until the Christmas Day and you'll get your main gift then. However I'm never much for waiting so you might get a few surprises before. I'll promise you'll love THEM!_

_Love_

_Your Secret Santa_

_Xxxxx_

"Oh! I forgot it was Christmas Day in a few day's time!" Konan exclaimed to herself, couldn't believe she forgot it. But then again she had been busy recently with stuff and the member's in this organisation didn't usually act the merry and cheerful type. Most of them couldn't give a shit what time of the year it was, there still was missions and stuff to do and even one's who did remember couldn't really be bothered with it. Except maybe Hidan, in his own little thing, because he was religious. But Konan seriously doubted it was him. "Must be something Pein arranged this year... While I was out on my mission." Konan said quietly to herself. Maybe it was Pein trying to get the teams to work better together, they had been fighting a lot recently. Using the season to do it. The other teams did annoy him a lot, could never get along and left a lot of conflict. "Never done it any other year's we've been together..." She commented in addition, frowning a little. It seemed like an idea but didn't seem like something Pein would do and no one knew him better than her...

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_Maybe it's something Tobi set up or something... Seems like something the Tobi character would like to do. Always so goofy and cheery... _Konan thought to herself as she walked down the corridor to the main group room. She felt better now having a shower and finally being at home but she couldn't shake off the nagging feeling that something wasn't correct about the 'Secret Santa' thing. Maybe if she found one of the other members she could ask about it some more.

"! Kisame!" She called out as she spotted him and he was just about to leave the group room but stopped in his tracks to look Konan.

"Oh, Konan. Back from your mission then?" Kisame commented and started to walk over to her.

"Yes, was no problem at all." Konan replied.

"Good. Leader-Sama was worried about letting you go off by yourself. Think he likes it better when you're a team permanently." Kisame continued and finally reached where she was standing. Kisame didn't like a few in the group but he was alright with Konan, she didn't go overboard like some of the others did. In fact he thought she was quite attractive... But he knew better than to hit on the Leader's partner, thought it wouldn't be good for him but still... A guy could dream...

"Yes, we just don't separate much for missions I guess..." Konan replied, she wasn't going to go into detail of the relationship with Pein with fish guy. Not that she hated him but she still weren't going to discuss it.

"Is something the matter?" Kisame asked, seeing that she had question written on her face.

"Oh no, I wouldn't say the matter but more of a wondering." Konan corrected, didn't need him worrying.

"Go on." Kisame pushed. "It's getting late and I've got a few things to get done in the morning."

"It's just... I got a note through the door just shortly after I came in from my mission and... Found it a little strange that we're having a 'Secret Santa' thing going on this year." Konan explained roughly.

"No idea what you mean, Konan." Kisame frowned, not understanding what she was talking about. "There's nothing going on for Christmas, like every other year. If you're going to get another member a gift that strictly on the people involved, nothing to do with us as a group."

"..." Konan didn't know how to respond to that. Was it just her that got the message?

"You alright Konan?" Kisame replied with a slight look of worry on his fellow member.

Konan looked back up at Kisame, who had disturbed her thoughts. "... It's nothing. I must have misread." She replied quickly, she didn't want to cause any worry. "Forget I mentioned it."

"Alright..." Kisame replied slowly, he decided to just ignore what was just said. Didn't want to make anything out of it. "Glad you came back from the mission without a scratch. I better get going." With that he gave her a tiny smile and walked off out of the group room.

Konan stood in the same spot for a few minutes, wondering what was going on. Who sent her that message? Was the person even from the group? Ha! What was she thinking!? Someone else... No one else could even get into their area's!... But who?


	2. Group Discussion

**Secret Santa**

**Happy Xmas 2007! This a mostly a Konan fic with a bit of Pein, my current favourite characters from Naruto that I like to write on, couldn't resist making my Xmas fanfiction for the year on them : ) This is most likely a couple part piece, it's to long as a whole one shot. Hope you enjoy this piece.**

**Konan finds a note for her talking about a secret Santa for her this year and thinks it's from Pein. Is it from Pein? Or someone else...?**

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"Watch what you're saying, un!" Came Deidara's voice from the group room.

Where it had been empty before when Konan was in there it was now filled with some of the members of the organisation. All sat around their common parts of the room, all in the same discussion.

"I said nothing." Kisame replied bluntly, firmly starring at Deidara. "She was only talking to me because I was the first person she saw."

"And what was she doing questioning it? Un." Deidara continued to accuse.

**"Well of course she was going to question it, idiot." **Zetsu's dark half butted in. **"She gets a weird message, of course she's going to question it!"**

"Still... We don't want her on to us, un." Deidara hissed in return.

"And she won't." The white side of Zetsu answered. "Didn't notice a thing when I left that message. In fact... I was in the room and she didn't even notice."

"Quit bragging." Itachi hissed. "On a normal day she would've. She was just tired from her mission is all."

**"Like you could've done it better!" **Zetsu's black accused.

"I bet I could've." Itachi replied blankly as usual.

"Quit arguing, it's going to get us anywhere." Deidara butted in, not wanting to hear hours upon hours of bragging and nagging from fellow members. "She didn't catch Zetsu. That's it, un. Besides, Zetsu was the best choice for that job anyway. It's what he does all the time, un."

"Thank you." Zetsu thanked and just smirked at Itachi.

"Whatever." Itachi frowned in return.

"Yea, whatever." Kisame added. "She didn't catch on, that's all we needed. I don't see why we haven't added Tobi, Kakazu or Hidan though... Wouldn't it have been just easier to have them helping us?"

**"Because it's a stupid idea." **The dark side of Zetsu sneered.

"Meaning not good idea." The good side of Zetsu butted in, trying give an explanation. "I mean..."

"He means Hidan can't keep his loud trap shut, un." Deidara butted in with his own funny little explanation. "Hello, he could think bad of Konan in any way, shape or form and then just start cussing at her and we know he can mention anything when he's like that."

"True and he can get like that from anything to no reason at all." Itachi sighed, still with blank voice and face.

**"Exactly, making it not a good idea." **Zetsu's black half butted in yet again.

"And why do you have to be boss all the darn time? Un." Deidara accused.

**"Because it's my idea."**

"I'm not the one that argues all the time." The white side added. "Plus I am higher in the levelling than you."

"What's that supposed to me? Un." Deidara shouted back at the plant.

"Enough!" Itachi grunted. "We're getting nowhere. It was Zetsu's plan and he is the one that does do the most for Leader-Sama, other than Konan. And he is the one that passes things on to Leader-Sama for us, we don't do it each personally."

"Itachi's right. Let's just stop making stupid little arguments, we all know our places here and we all know how and what we do. We're still a team, whether any of us likes it or not." Kisame added. "Why not Kakazu?"

"That was just playing it safe." The white side of Zetsu answered. "Can't risk him mentioning it to Hidan, plus him and Hidan would just make things worse."

**"Yea, arguing team from hell." **The black side just had to add.

All the rest of the S-Rank shinobi nodded in agreement to what Zetsu was saying. They were a difficult pair and took usually ages to get anything done when they were together. Plus one couldn't do it most likely without the other one finding out and questioning.

"Didn't think there was anyone else that's worse than us for arguing but those two proves me wrong, un." Deidara laughed, while some of the others nodded in agreement that they could be that bad.

"Plus they've been out a lot on doing things, more than the rest of us." Zetsu added. "Not around much to do much."

"Yea... Think they have another massive mission tomorrow. Wouldn't be of any good to us. Plus there's no need for them to know." Kisame agreed. "Fine. What about Tobi?"

"Ha, you mean why have Tobi? Un." Deidara laughed.

"Now that's just a little rude about your partner." Itachi hissed.

"Hmm..." Deidara grunted back at the Uchiha, he so didn't like him. "Tobi will just get it in our way."

"True, Tobi does get in the way, a lot." Kisame nodded.

**"Plus the brat can't keep quiet!"** The dark side rudely commented.

"What I mean is... He's nice and everything but he really doesn't know when to shut up." The white side butted in.

"Exactly my point." Deidara continued. "If he knew the real plan there would be no way in hell he'd keep it quiet, to much of a 'good boy. Un."

"True." Kisame agreed.

"Plus what would he do? Help us make pretty cards, un?" Deidara laughed at his sarcastic suggestion.

The rest of the group, except the blank Itachi, either laughed or smirked at Deidara's comment. Even with very funny comments Itachi never cracked a smile, even though what they'd just said was such the truth.

"Na, he's alright..." Deidara sighed finally, still with a hint of giggle in his voice. "He's just... Not correct for this... Plan. Yea, that's it, un."

"We could use him though." Itachi added blankly.

**"What!? Are you crazy?! You've just heard what we said, didn't you?!" **Zetsu's black half burst.

"Not like that." Itachi sneered. "I don't mean like have him in our group or anything."

"Then what do you mean, Uchiha? Un." Deidara sneered at the main one in the organisation that he couldn't stand.

For a moment Itachi just gave sneered look back at Deidara, before finally answering. "I mean use him in the plot... Idiot..." Last part very sneered but almost like a whisper to himself.

"What did you call me!?" Deidara burst with annoyance.

"Leave it!" Kisame interrupted. "We've got much better thing's to do and people to fight than fight between ourselves."

"Whatever, fishy." Deidara grunted with annoyance. Kisame didn't reply, just gave a very uncomfortable glare for a moment.

**"And how do you suppose we use Tobi in our plots then?" **The dark Zetsu asked, breaking silence in the room.

"Dunno but I'm pretty sure we could use him for something..." Itachi replied in a quiet tone.

"Like frame him, un? Well not frame but make Konan think it's him more than any of us?" Deidara suggested and questioned at the same time.

"Exactly." Zetsu smirked at the idea. "We just have to keep her off our trails for the little bit of time we got."

"... And if she starts looking in the direction of one of us?..." Itachi asked, wanting to make sure they had all bases covered where they could.

**"Let her." **The dark side replied simply.

"?"

"?"

"?... Huh? But we don't want her to catch on till Xmas day, un." Deidara replied with a startled face.

"It doesn't matter." Zetsu replied. "If she thinks it's one of us, let her. Just don't get caught red handed. She won't guess our plans in a million years anyway."

The others nodded with understanding, seeing Zetsu's point. Why did he care about this plan so much? Some of them wondered. But it wasn't like Zetsu was going to say anything anyway. His reasons was most likely like theirs, they felt like they had to... Plus sounded entertaining from usual stuff anyways.

"What's on in here?" A voice said, almost demanding what they wanted to know.

The high ranked ninja all turned and starred at the area where the voice came from. Their eye sight soon showed the voice belonged to Kakazu and he was walking into the group room with his partner, Hidan.

"Nothing." All four ninja said at the same time and went to looking at different directions.

"Whatever." Kakazu hissed finally when he wasn't getting a response and went and sat in his common area.

"Sneaky bastards." Hidan cussed as he went and sat down in his usual spot. "You lot don't do anything fucking brilliant anyway."


	3. A Tobi Annoyance

**Secret Santa**

**Happy Xmas 2007! This a mostly a Konan fic with a bit of Pein, my current favourite characters from Naruto that I like to write on, couldn't resist making my Xmas fanfiction for the year on them : ) This is most likely a couple part piece, it's to long as a whole one shot. Hope you enjoy this piece.**

**Konan finds a note for her talking about a secret Santa for her this year and thinks it's from Pein. Is it from Pein? Or someone else...?**

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_Thing's are just getting strange around here... _Konan thought to herself as she sat quietly in her spot in the group room. She was alone in the room, all the others had said they had other things to be doing. Some she doubted, more like they had something more interesting to do in their own minds, not that the things would be interesting to anyone else. _Some of them are just acting off key... Can't put my finger on it though... Some are their usual selves, like Hidan, nothing unusual about him. Rude as ever. One of the most strangest parts has to be..._

"Hey Konan!" Came a loud and happy voice and soon the person's body could be seen. Tobi...

"Tobi..." Konan sighed with the formal like greeting and finally glanced to see him strolling over happily.

"Love the decorations! Don't you?" Tobi started the conversation in his casual happy tone.

"Their alright, I guess..." Konan sighed in reply, not totally sure what to think of them. "You put them up?"

"No, of course not." Tobi replied, a bit surprised that she'd thought it was him. "Why'd you think it was me? I thought you did this every year. A time of the year maybe when you lot weren't so harsh."

"We're usually harsh all year around." Konan corrected Tobi, she'd been there long enough to know what this group was like all year around. "And no. We've never done anything for any season. No holidays, decorations...etc... Thought it might've been you since you're the newest one and... So cheerful..."

"Nope, it weren't." Tobi replied with an insistent voice. "They are pretty though."

"..." Konan didn't reply, she knew better than to say such words as 'pretty' in this organisation. She was more wondering about the mysterious message that she got yesterday... Secret Santa? Kisame didn't have any idea what she was talking about... And she thought if there was really something like that going on here she thought Kisame would've known.

"What's the matter with you, Konan?" Tobi questioned, sitting down near Konan.

"Nothing you need to concern yourself with." Konan replied plainly. As if she wanted to discuss anything with the forever happy Tobi.

"Something's bothering you." Tobi stated. "Better to get it off your chest."

"You know anything about a Secret Santa thing? That's supposed to be going on here, maybe." Konan asked wearily, thought she'd give it one more try and see whether someone knew about it at all. Being careful not to mention about a message already, last thing she needed was for Tobi to spread that gossip everywhere. Pein had been sounding upset enough as it is, didn't want to aggravate him even more with her own problems. He looked uncomfortable enough when he had to send her on that mission alone without him, Pein was acting in such a strange mood recently... For himself at least. Almost looking at her differently, very strange. Fair enough he didn't like send her out on missions alone before and was very rare that he did but now... He started making it sound like law that it wasn't happening again. But then again... Konan and Pein hadn't even been barely apart since children.

"What's a 'Secret Santa', Konan?" Tobi questioned in return, starting to look excited about whatever a 'Secret Santa' was. "I haven't heard of that before."

_... And there's my answer... _Konan sighed with annoyance to herself. If Tobi didn't know what it was then there was no way he would know anything about any messages. "Nothing Tobi..." She sighed aloud.

"Oh, come on!" Tobi gasped with disappointment. "It sounds like fun!"

"Nothing Tobi." Konan frowned. "It doesn't matter."

"Meanie." Tobi scowled back when Konan wouldn't say what a 'Secret Santa' was.

"You've celebrated Christmas before?" Konan asked simply.

"Yes."

"Then you should either know it or you don't, if it was important enough to you then you would already know what it is." Konan answered harshly. "And it's obviously not important enough to be happening here. None here are interested in holidays or religious anything."

"That's not true." Tobi replied brightly.

"...?" Konan looked at Tobi with a massive question mark on her face.

"Hidan's very religious. The most religious man I've ever met." Tobi continued, still full of brightness. Konan wished sometimes some of the others lightened up like him, wouldn't be such a blank organisation all the time then. Not that she'd mention it to anyone at all, not even her partner, Pein. He wouldn't understand her 'queer' feelings. Not that she didn't totally understand why he didn't like any holidays at all, he was a 'god' after all and you'd think a 'god' would have his own holiday or celebrate something. Obviously not...

"Yea but look at all the 'unreligious' things he does." Konan pointed out firmly.

"That's in his religion. All the things he does..." Tobi replied, his brightness still hadn't falter at all.

"... Against anything else, other religions and morals..." Konan sighed, thinking about the faults with Hidan, so many in her mind.

"It's just the way he is." Tobi explained simply. "Plus isn't that what all of us are?"

"Hm?"

"None of us is _really _religious of any kind nor do we believe in morals. We throw aside basic human boundaries very often." Tobi explained.

"That's where you're wrong, Tobi..." Konan sighed, still starring at him, now bored.

"Hm?" Now it was Tobi that didn't understand.

"Everyone has rules and boundaries, even 'evil' people such as ourselves." Konan explained, she knew they didn't act like 'normal' people but even they had certain limits. Each have different limits and morals and have lines that shouldn't be crossed. "It's like Pein... He has certain limits and morals, they vary to each of the members, some more and some less but still..."

"How come he never discusses them?" Tobi asked plainly. Not understanding why none of the others liked to discuss openly about things, like him. He felt better to not to over stress about anything and get things off his chest. He guessed he just wasn't as complex as the others...

"Well they're not for discussing..." Konan sighed, Tobi can be so annoying. "You ask to many questions."

"You never find out anything without asking." Tobi replied with a smile on his face. "I think everything would be better if people just discussed things. I mean... How do you know what you just said is true? How'd you know those things are there?"

"Not all things can be put into words Tobi..." Konan continued to sigh. Why didn't he get the message that not everything could be proven or discussed? Some things were just there... And the people involved just knew it was there... They were to be experienced, not said... "You just know their there... The people just feel it... No words are needed, you already know so much... It's like a deep connection of sorts."

"I hope I get to feel that close to somebody one day..." Tobi smiled ever so slightly, liking what Konan said but wished he was going to experience it soon and have such a close relationship with someone.

Konan got up from her seat and just stood there for a few moments before she uttered any words. "I've got to go."

"Mission or something?" Tobi glanced up.

"No. Pein didn't want to and sent some others instead, Hidan's team I think..." Konan replied. "I'm just going to go and see my partner. See whether something needs to be doing . Haven't you got something to do? Something with Deidara maybe?"

"Hmm... Nope. It took me ages to find my partner but he told me to get lost and he was already doing something with some of the others." Tobi sighed. "Disappointing but can't make Deidara play with me."

"What's he doing with the others? He usually just wants to be by himself..." Konan pondered,

"Don't know but he sure didn't want me around." Tobi replied with a hinge of sadness in his voice.

"... Most likely being annoying or playing jokes on others..." Konan sighed. "See you later, Tobi.

"Ok, see you later!" Tobi smiled happily and watched her walk out the room.

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"Something wrong, Konan?" Pein asked as he just patiently sat and starred at her.

Both were sat at the top of the building and overlooking their country. Watching people scurrying around far below them, good chunk looked like they were getting ready for the holidays. It was only a few days away for most...

"Just thinking..." Konan sighed simply and carried on looking below at people.

"About what?" Pein continued to ask. He picked up a kunai and started to play with it between his hands. "Looks like somethings bothering you."

"It's nothing." Konan insisted, still without raising her eyes.

"Tell me." Pein almost demanded, still not taking his eyes off his partner.

"What's with the decorations?" Konan finally asked, not wanting to mention her message that she got yesterday. It was even possible that it was him that did it, he had been acting rather odd since she got back... But she didn't understand why he would want to have her wondering so much, why couldn't he just tell her?

"... We've been... All a bit down... And felt the season would cheer us up..." Pein replied blankly, looking like he was trying to find an explanation. "It was suggested... And I thought it was a good idea..."

_Something's definitely wrong with him... _Konan decided to herself. He's got his usual blank expression and body language but there was something not quite right... Plus since when did the leader of 'evil' become interested in 'the season'? He wasn't usually 'happy' about anything and wasn't even really happy to see other people happy.

"Anything else?" Pein asked, making it look like there should be on his face.

"No, why?" Konan replied.

"Just thought that there was..." Pein replied, still plainly starring at her. Suddenly grasped the kunai firmly in his right hand and threw it into a wall, which it pierced a big hole into the wall. Such force...

"Why?" Konan asked again and starred at where the kunai had landed in the wall. "Is it that bad that I have some deep thoughts on my mind?"

"... I just don't like you to worry." Pein replied softly, starring at her. "Plus you looked like you had more than some 'deep thoughts' on your mind."

"Maybe..." Konan replied softly, still not wanting to look Pein in the eyes. She knew that if she looked into his eye's he would most likely drag it out of her and she didn't want to concern him with the message. What if it was him? She was almost worried to find out. It was like whoever placed the message for her yesterday was maybe even trying to scare her our... She didn't want to give anyone the satisfaction of having her scared or even worried.

"Tell me." Pein almost demanded again.

"Nothing!" Konan insisted, now getting annoyed with his insistence. "Don't bother yourself." With that she got up and left the area quickly, before he really dragged it out of her. Pein's swirly eye's just narrowed with watching her quickly leave... She was his partner, would she really be hiding things from him? Then again... He wasn't telling her the whole truth either... A nasty smirk slid across his face.

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Konan stormed right through the house and went directly to her room. If she did pass any of her team mates she didn't bother to take any notice of them. She just felt like being alone... And when she said she wanted to be alone, she really did mean _alone._ She just wanted time to think... Plus all of the others just seem to be annoying her recently with _everything _that they do. Mostly because of this message... And not knowing who it could be...

"Tobi! What are you doing in here?!" Konan boomed when she walked into her bedroom to find Tobi by her bed. She rushed over to where he was standing, she looked on her bed to see another note resting on it. "So it's you... Do think this is funny or something?! Playing around with me!?"

Tobi quickly put up his hands in self defence. "I don't know what you're talking about! I only just came in."

"What are you doing here?!" Konan demanded briskly. "You know darn well you're not aloud in other members rooms without permission! Everyone knows of this! Especially with my room!"

"It's not what you think, Konan." Tobi continued with a slight panic in his voice. "This was already here. I just got told that you were looking for me, needed to discuss something..."

"And why would I need to discuss _anything _with you?" Konan sneered with annoyance. "Who sent you in here?"

"Oh... Um... A few of them said for me to come in..." Tobi explained roughly, still showing his nervousness. He'd never seen Konan mad before, she was usually ice calm. "I'm sorry, Konan... I should've had a better look in here before totally entering the room without permission."

Konan's face slightly softened when she saw that he was most likely telling her the truth. "Other's told you to come in here?" She questioned. "They all know about not coming in here."

"Yea... A few of them... Can't remember all of them exactly now... But they said to get you because Pein wanted you or something..." Tobi explained, now a bit more relaxed now she'd lost most of her annoyance and anger.

"... I was just with Pein..." Konan stated.

"Oh... Must be some mistake then..." Tobi put his hand behind his head, now feeling almost embarrassed for entering her room without any real reason. "I'm sorry. I'm just so forgetful, I remember now that we were chatting just before you went off to see him. The other's that told me must have been mistaken."

"That's alright, Tobi..." Konan sighed finally. It was true... Tobi was forgetful. She guessed that she will never know who really sent him here... Oh well... Did it really matter? "...If you don't mind... Tobi... I'd like to be alone now..."

"Oh! Sure! No problem." Tobi nodded and immediately headed towards the door, not wanting to intrude the high ranked female ninja anymore.

Konan starred after him and watched him leave the room and carefully shut the door behind him. The blue haired girl breathed a sigh of relief, finally she was alone. Her attention now drawn towards her bed where a note was carefully placed on the end of the bed. For a scarce of a moment she was worried, maybe scared even, to find out what it held for her but soon snapped herself out of it. She's Konan. Scared of nothing. One of the most feared and legendary women on the planet with one of the world's most strongest and fearless men by her side for a partner, what did she have to be so worried about? She was safe. At least she hoped she would be, especially with Pein. He'd never let her down in the whole of her life...

"Come on then..." She sighed finally and strolled over to her bed and picked up the note. As she unravelled it she felt a sudden spurge of a familiar chakra which made her jump but just as quickly as it came... It went... "Who was that?" She gasped as her head darted around quickly round her bedroom. "Their gone... Whoever it was..." She continued. It felt familiar but... Not sure. Definitely someone she's met before... Who? Did it matter much? They were gone now. "I'm getting sick of all the intrusions!" Konan hissed to herself and now found her attention now focusing back on her message.

_Dear Konan,_

_This is your Secret Santa here. Said I would be in touch again. Go look in the bathroom, there's a lil 'gift' I thought you'd like..._

_Secret Santa_

_Xxxxxx_

Konan's head changed direction, her head slowly shifting towards where her personal bathroom was. Was someone still in there? If so... Was that 'his' chakra she just felt a few moments ago?...


	4. Group Mistake

**Secret Santa**

**Happy Xmas 2007! This a mostly a Konan fic with a bit of Pein, my current favourite characters from Naruto that I like to write on, couldn't resist making my Xmas fanfiction for the year on them : ) This is most likely a couple part piece, it's to long as a whole one shot. Hope you enjoy this piece.**

**Konan finds a note for her talking about a secret Santa for her this year and thinks it's from Pein. Is it from Pein? Or someone else...?**

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"Tobi!... This better not be you playing more of your games!" Konan yelled with a worried look on her face. What was with her? Why is this bothering her so bad? She's a S-Rank ninja, she even had legendary status, very good for a girl in any country. Now look her. Scared at of someone maybe hiding in her bathroom and sending her creepy notes. "Get it together, Konan." She hissed to herself. "What's there to be scared of? It's bound to be one of the others. Messing with you. No one else knows where we are... Even if someone did, ha! No one would dare to enter in here."

Konan soon turned her face from worried to annoyance, she just wanted to be by herself and someone just keeps bothering her. And not even with a good reason, Pein surely must not of approved of this 'Secret Santa' thing. Sure he'd been acting a little weird with Christmas decorations but not even Pein's weirdness would allow this. He wouldn't want her to be worried or anything like this. Plus no one else knows of it, so it has to be someone playing a prank on her... And her patience was wearing thin. Konan's eye's sneered with her now current expression and pulled out a sheet of paper from under her cloak. The piece of paper quickly got automatically folded into a paper kunai, sure it might be paper one but it acted just as good as the original and was strong. "I'm giving you 5 seconds to come out of there!" Konan warned, loud enough to be well heard to anyone hanging around. Konan walked herself to the bathroom door and mentally counted to herself. She suddenly started to have doubts that the person was still in there... She couldn't feel that strong chakra anymore. It was like it suddenly vanished ages ago and there was no sign of it coming back. "Better to just check..." Konan whispered to herself. "Coming then!" Konan yelled and slammed her hand onto the door knob and swung the bathroom door open. It wasn't what she had expect...

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"I think it was a stupid plan..." Itachi stated in his common mono toned voice.

**"Well no one asked you." **Zetsu's dark half sneered back.

"It was stupid, un." Deidara agreed.

**"Well that's a first." **The dark half comically hissed.

"Enough, what's done is done." Kisame butted in, not wanting an endless fight to erupt. It wouldn't get them anywhere.

_"That's right, what's done is done. But that doesn't mean I'm happy with the results of it..." _Came a hissed voice, no body to be seen but the others didn't need to see a body to know who it really was. _"It's not the way I wanted it..."_

**"You should be happy we're doing you're dirty work for you!" **Sneered the black side.

"We're happy to do it, really." The white side added quickly, making it sound like the black side was just joking.

"Speak for yourself." Itachi added bluntly.

**"Yea, speak for yourself." **The dark side hissed to his white part.

"Shut up." The white part retaliated.

**"You shut up."**

"Why don't both of you shut up? Un." Deidara butted in. "He's speaking. Don't waste his time, un."

"Since when did you care about anybody speaking?" Itachi sneered.

Deidara was about to make his response to that rude comment but intersected. _"Enough! I don't want to hear all this." _The voice butted in and not sounding happy at all. _"Zetsu... You've 'decided' to become some sort of 'leader' on this project."_

"Yes and I am. I don't think I'm doing that bad of a job." The white side replied.

_"You're not doing it that well."_

**"Nonsense. I'm doing it brilliantly." **The black side defended.

_"It's not going as discussed."_

**"Well it's not going to go exactly as you thought when it's not being done by yourself." **The dark part hissed.

_"It must be done my way. You're screwing it up." _The voice hissed, sounding not happy at all.

"And what's not going to plan, exactly? We've followed you're basic instructions." Itachi asked, breaking up the little fight that was being created.

_"That gift for one thing." _The voice stated.

"What gift? Huh, Zetsu? Un." Deidara added with question in his voice.

"Yea... There was just message, wasn't it Zetsu?" Kisame agreed.

_"By the looks of it Zetsu you're adding parts of your own." _It sharply accused.

**"It was a nice touch." **The black side insisted. **"Less blank."**

"It was supposed to be just sweet romantic messages till Christmas Day and she would get the main 'gift' surprise then." Kisame stated. "What was all this adding for? Sounds like you've been adding words to our messages as well."

_"Yes. Why? I'd like to know too."_

**"I already said. I thought it would be a nice touch, more personal."**

"There's no need for personal when she's going to get the most perfect 'personal' bit at the end. Un." Deidara added crossly. "You shouldn't be add things without clearing it, un."

**"Since when do you care? Since when did any of you care?" **He replied bluntly.

"..." Itachi just closed his eye's, not bothering to respond. Didn't feel like he needed to explain anything.

"Well what's you're reasons, huh?" Deidara shot back. "... She's one of us, ya know. That's why. We might not like each other at times but we're still like... A family of... Sorts... Yea, un. And if _He _wants this and that to happen then that's what's going to happen! Un. No questions."

"Aw, Deidara's going sweet on us." Itachi joked with a smirk on his face.

"Ha. I think you feel the same way, un." Deidara shot back.

"What makes you say that?" Itachi hissed in reply, eye's squinting.

"Because you wouldn't be bothering, un."

"..." Itachi didn't reply but the silence was enough to show that Deidara was correct.

_"Deidara's got the points and you all agreed and Zetsu... You're fucking it up." _The voice sneered.

**"Hang on, hang on! We'll just have to just sort it out then!" **The dark side defended.

_"To right it's going to be sorted!" _The voice snorted. _"It was not in the action plan to scare her to death and make her act off. It's not helping me at all! It's just making her hate us."_

**"Touchy touchy."**

"He's right, Zetsu." Kisame replied firmly.

"Yea, un. If it carries on like that she won't like the final result. She'll hate the person before that." Deidara added.

"Look, I said sorry." The white side said, at least one side looked sorry for his actions.

"A part of me thinks you're trying to mess it up." Itachi accused with very slit and accusing eye's.

**"You're being ridiculous!" **He snapped.

"You'd think I'd mess up the plan!?" The white side exclaimed.

"Well you're doing a good job of it." Itachi butted back.

"I'll do better, promise." The white part pleaded.

_"You'd better!" _The voice snapped. _"I won't accept nothing less than perfect! I don't want her acting off and acting like she hates me before hand. Back off for now."_

"But Christmas Day is less than 3 days away... We can't let the track go totally cold." Kisame explained.

_"Fine! But only messages and when I say messages... I mean only messages! Understand? We can't risk it. Also nothing goes past me now, I want to see them. Plus what else were you thinking Zetsu? With that gift and all."_

**"What do you mean? We've already gone over the reasons of the last thing." **Zetsu questioned with the black half.

_"Well for starters you're tactic was stupid. Hiding in the room while she was in there and all!" _The voice stated with the problem.

"... I wanted to see her reactions... That was all." Zetsu explained with the white part. "Besides that's why we set up Tobi anyway. So he was in the incriminating room when she found it."

_"Fat lot of good that did us." _The voice sneered. _"She doesn't think it was him anyways. But then again... Maybe that's a good thing... Why did you others follow that?"_

"We just wanted to make sure she was off our backs, un." Deidara explained the logic. "We don't want her on our tracks was all. She's very observant."

_"Yes... She is. Which is why it was stupid for Zetsu to be in there at the time. She sensed you, you idiot!" _The voice boomed.

**"She did!?" **The dark part gasped.

"It's obvious you weren't be careful enough..." Itachi sneered. "You're usually so good at this."

**"That's because I am!" **He yelled back at Itachi.

"She's not a common target, idiot." Deidara commented. "She knows our chakra's well, un. And you didn't hide in the walls well enough."

"..." For once Zetsu was out of words. Felt like an idiot to get caught out. "... She knows?"

_"No, thankfully."_

"?" Zetsu questioned.

_"She caught like a second of it. Didn't have enough to guess who it was, but she does know someone was watching her." _The voice explained. _"Next time... Think more carefully."_

"..." Zetsu didn't respond, still feeling stupid for being almost caught. He was supposed to be great at this but he let his guard down, which was so unlike him...

_"What's with the gift?" _The voice asked. _"Why did you choose that gift?"_

"I thought it was a sweet touch." The white part explained.

_"Meaning behind it?"_

**"Why would you think there was a meaning or message behind it?" **Zetsu's dark half questioned bluntly.

_"Because it was pretty nicely planned, not something you bought or cook up in a second." _The voice continued.

"Just thought it was nice..." Zetsu's white side replied.

_"..." _The voice didn't bother to reply, Zetsu seemed insistent on not mentioning much about the gift. He didn't trust it... Usually that meant Zetsu was up to something and didn't want any of them finding out.

"We better disband..." Itachi muttered soon after the voice explained a few more things.

**"Why?" **Zetsu asked.

"She's bound to come out of her room. We don't want her seeing us together or overhear us discussing. Don't her linking us to _your _mistake. And for your sake it better have been a good gift/s, don't need her screeching or anything." Itachi explained.

"He's right." Kisame nodded in agreement and got up to leave.

_"Just remember what I said." _The voice warned.

All the small amount of members nodded but soon froze when they heard a female scream coming from the direction of Konan's room. There was no question that it was her, she was the only female in the place.

_"Looks like she didn't like what you call a 'nice' gift/s. So much for your 'personal' touch, doesn't sound like anything I would want to give to her. You really know how to fuck up my plans!" _The voice sneered and the other members quickly got up to see what Zetsu had done...


	5. A Bad Bathroom Inspection

**Secret Santa**

**Happy Xmas 2007! This a mostly a Konan fic with a bit of Pein, my current favourite characters from Naruto that I like to write on, couldn't resist making my Xmas fanfiction for the year on them : ) This is most likely a couple part piece, it's to long as a whole one shot. Hope you enjoy this piece.**

**Konan finds a note for her talking about a secret Santa for her this year and thinks it's from Pein. Is it from Pein? Or someone else...?**

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Konan's mouth hung down in shock and unpleased amazement. She was now on her knees, legs were unable to take her weight anymore from such shock. The paper kunai to was now laying beside her, dropped from the shock.

"I heard you scream..." Came a familiar voice to Konan from behind her. Konan looked slowly behind her to reveal her partner, Pein, standing directly behind her and looking down at her. "Something the matter?"

"... Look for yourself..." Konan answered quietly, almost in a stunned whisper.

Pein grabbed his female partner by the top of her arm and gently yanked her to her feet. He walked past her a little and peered with his head into the bathroom for a second and quickly popped it back out. Even though showed a little stunned in his eyes but the rest of his face looked as blank as ever. "Who did this?"

"How would I know that?" Konan snapped back at him. "If I knew who did this they'd have been already jabbed to death with the sharpest attack I got."

"No hint?" Pein asked, not showing any real response to her snapping back at him.

"... Not really. Just Tobi being in here when he wasn't supposed to be just before I discovered this... Mess." Konan replied softly.

"Think it was him?" Pein questioned.

"... Don't know..." Konan continued in a soft voice.

"..." Pein was as stunned as she was but didn't really like to show it in the face, just the deep part of his eye's.

"We heard screaming! Is everything alright in here?" Kisame burst as him, Itachi and Deidara entered the room in response to the scream.

"Yea, we never hear you scream, Konan. Must be something bad to you, un." Deidara added.

With that the three of them motioned towards the bathroom and all of them glanced inside the female's bathroom. Itachi's face didn't change, like usual, nothing usually got to him. But the other two let out just a small gasp but that was all, it was nothing new to them, all had been seen before. It couldn't surprise them to much because they'd seen so much in their times of working in this organisation. "You're acting like you've never seen this kind of thing before, Konan... Why such a big scream?" Itachi asked in a blank tone of voice, now looking towards where Konan and Pein were standing.

Konan shoved a serious frown onto her face, not liking how Itachi was questioning.

"Itachi! It's not funny." Kisame butted in before Konan could reply. "True, some parts of that we've seen before... But... It still isn't pretty."

"For your information Itachi, I've seen just as bad stuff before, even worse than that... The bad part... I just don't like seeing it in the place I live in." Konan explained, still with a massive frown on her face. "You lot soon act up if someone even touches your robes in your rooms! I've been on edge enough, it's not funny when one from your own team is messing with you. I don't find it funny when none of you are even supposed to be in here!"

"I personally think it's disgusting, un." Deidara commented, pulling a disgusted face.

"Oh, coming from the guy that loves to blow nations up." Itachi jabbed.

"... They just disappear mostly when you blow them up. That sight is disgusting, un." Deidara insisted. "I don't blame Konan for not being happy about having _that _in any part of her room, un."

"Whatever." Itachi hissed, showing a bit of defeat since he was the only one seeing it a little silly. He just didn't get as easily disgusted, had he even been disgusted at any part of his life? No. Not a gross out kind of disgust.

"I agree, this isn't funny. At all." Pein said bluntly, his swirl eye's looking deadly serious. "We might like this business but not in our home, it's our refuge like anybody else's. Plus it's a rule, no one goes in and out of other members rooms without permission, I'm not happy about this."

"You better not be expecting _me _to go back in there and clean up that... Mess. And stay in here!" Konan warned sternly.

"... No problem." Pein replied simply.

"...?" Konan just looked at him with question.

"You'll just have to share with me." Pein explained roughly.

"I thought it wasn't aloud for other team members to sleep in others bedrooms too. Thought it was also a serious rule when that concerns a male and female." Itachi jabbed at the leader.

"What else do you expect Konan to do? Un." Deidara hissed in return to Itachi's comment. "Sleep in hers and Pein discussion and private room?"

Pein just looked like he was going to throw daggers at Itachi, not liking the comment. He hated being corrected and questioned, they were his own rules. Did Itachi think he'd forgotten them or something?

"Yea, Deidara's correct. There are no other females in the organisation and what's the matter with her sharing a bedroom with Pein? Their partners anyway and no one knows each other better than them two. Am I right?" Kisame defended against his own partner. Most of the members knew all to well that Pein and Konan had been together for most of their lives, even way before the organisation was even thought of.

"You're correct." Konan agreed and nodded her head. "It should be no problem, me and Pein have been together virtually all our lives. A couple of nights in my partners room while mine gets sorted shouldn't be any problem."

"Yes, my rooms the best suggestion." Pein added, was that a quick smile for a second? Na, the others must be imagining it. Pein never smiled, not even at things he enjoyed.

Itachi however did catch it and just gave a sneaky look at Pein, not trusting that it was as simple as what the others had just discussed. "Whatever." He sneered finally in defeat. "Guess we can't have Konan sleeping in in their private/discussion room."

"Yep and no one else's room is better than her own partners room, un." Deidara agreed.

"Whatever." Itachi repeated. "Let's go now, let her get sorted. Besides, we've got our own things to be doing, haven't we?"

"Yea..." Deidara and Kisame replied at the same time. And with that Itachi, Deidara and Kisame left the room without saying another word.

Pein watched them leave and started to walk over to Konan's wardrobe. He flung open the wardrobes doors and started pulling clothes off hangers and getting things off her shelves in the wardrobe.

"What are you doing?" Konan asked in amazement as she watched him walk away from her and do those things.

"What does it look like I'm doing?" Pein replied blankly to her question and continued to unload things. He next dropped a massive bag and started to put some of her stuff inside it.

"The scenes kind of funny though..." Konan finally said, breaking the silence as Pein just continued to pack.

"... Hmm?" Pein questioned and stopped for a second to look at her.

"Just saying the scene is kind of funny." Konan repeated herself.

"What do you mean?" Pein questioned again, now showing that his full attention was on her for the moment.

"Well... With me just standing here... And you flustering around the room, shoving my clothes into a holdall. Looks almost like you're kicking me out." Konan giggled a bit from her comment.

Pein just stood there for the moment staring at her, making Konan start to feel a little uncomfortable.

"Oh, don't mind me. I guess it's just my nerves playing on me." Konan continued finally, now feeling embarrassed. The shock must of made her giggle and joke like that, Konan never usually did that...

A smile emerged onto Pein's face, now Konan was scared. Pein very rarely smiled at anything, including things that he liked and made him happy. "Oh, I get it. Very funny scene I guess when you really think about... Shock makes us come up with strange things, I guess... You'll be fine in a bit. Once we get you out of this room." Pein smile had now faded but to Konan it was one of the most amazing things she'd ever seen. Things really were getting weird around here and he was a good chunk of the 'weird'. Acting just a tad off but then again what else would Pein offer? He wasn't going to let her just go and sleep in another members room or anywhere without a bed.

"Done." Pein declared after rushing around the bedroom for another at least 15 minutes, without uttering another word or emotion. "I think that'll do you for now... And if it isn't and I've forgotten something just say and I'll come back in here any time and collect it for you."

"Thanks Pein, you don't have too." Konan replied, blushing a little. Was a little unusual to have him fussing around her, she usually was strong and didn't need Pein to support her.

"It's alright." Pein assured her with his common blank tone. "You're my partner. I wouldn't be a very good one if I didn't."

"Or best friend?" Konan added lightly. Pein just looked at her for the moment again, why did he keep doing that? He kept longingly looking at her, it was strange. Did he know something she didn't? "I just added that because... I guess you're mine. No one knows each other better than I us..." Konan added quickly.

"You're mine too." Pein replied simply. "I don't trust... Anyone else... Especially with my life."

"Me too." Konan smiled slightly. They'd never actually discussed this before... Their relationship was an unusual one but it worked for them, they never used words for their feelings. They always let their actions speak for them and those actions showed they had something special. Some of the others had hinted that there was more between them but Konan had never really thought about it... She'd never really thought about love, her work always came first... Plus she wasn't a typical girlie girl, didn't fuss over her hair nor did she really flirt. That's just the way she was and she'd always guessed that guy's didn't like her that way. She felt Ok with that, she only needed Pein, if she didn't have him with her... Konan didn't know where she would be without him. Possibly even dead?

Pein had now moved and grabbed the couple of bags full of Konan's stuff that he'd created for her. Once having all of them he stood up straight and quickly walked over to the bedroom door but suddenly stopped at it. "Come, Konan." He almost instructed and turned his head a little behind to glance at her.

Konan stayed where she was and just looked at him a moment. When she said not staying in here and staying in Pein's room she didn't realise that he meant her doing everything immediately. Wanting to get it done a bit quickly wasn't he? "But Pein... What about my room?"

"What about it?" Pein replied blankly.

"Well it can't stay the way it is." Konan replied, almost pouted with disgust.

"Well there's nothing wrong with your actual room." Pein replied, stating the obvious.

"I'm talking about the bathroom." Konan shot back with slit annoyed eye's. "I'm not going to be staying in your bedroom forever. But I'm going to be coming back in here till it's cleaned, disgusting."

"I'll just get one of the others to clean it, you'll use my shower and bedroom till it's fixed." Pein answered simply, not seeing a problem with the plan.

"Good luck."

"With what?"

"Getting one of _them _to clean it." Konan joked.

"They'll do as I say." Pein answered in a firm voice, almost enough to shock Konan with the firmness.

"Oh..." Konan replied finally, a little taken back from her partners response to her joke. "... How long do you think that might be?"

"We'll have to see." Pein replied blankly. "I'm saying at least a couple of day's. There's quite a... 'mess' in there and I've got a feeling that some of them, like Deidara, aren't going anywhere near what's in your bathroom, let alone clean anything. But I've got one person in mind that I'm going to instruct to do it, so don't worry."

"Good, as long as you'll have it sorted." Konan replied plainly.

"Come then, Konan. Get you settled into my bedroom." Pein continued.

"Ok, you go ahead." Konan nodded.

"... Why?" Pein questioned, looking totally at her.

"I just want a minute to 'gain' myself from the shock, privately." Konan explained in a light tone of voice.

"... Fine, just don't take to long." Pein grunted and Konan nodded at him.

"I won't. I'm not that shocked now, guess that's one plus from being in this business with you, don't take long to get over anything disgusting or shock." Konan added as she watched Pein leave the room silently.

When Pein had certainly left the room Konan took a super deep breath. She walked over to the bathroom door and pushed herself to go in just a little to try and get her head around it. There was only one main part in the centre that was disturbing of any kind. Pieces of paper were still floating down from the ceiling fan and tons were scattered over the floor. When she first walked in the paper was only just starting fall, like snow. Only now a good chunk of the room had massive splotches of red all over and Konan knew where and what the red was coming from. Blood. Lots of the pieces of paper were now soaked with it. Konan picked up a dry piece of paper and realised something she hadn't before, they were shaped like feathers. All of the pieces of paper had been folded into feathers, like an angel's feathers... Konan dropped the piece of paper in amazement. Someone really was trying to hit her personally, after all she was titled 'God's Angel'. She walked just a little more in, she knew there was no one else in there with her but the room still gave her the creeps. The blue hair female walked a little to the centre where her bathtub was, which was now overflowing in blood and had tons of blood just splattered everywhere from it. It just sent a shiver up Konan's spine, never had she ever had to inspect this kind of slaughter. If she had to do a kill or anything of sorts there was never this amount of blood and she was always in a rush, never saw much carnage. This was different... From a kill that she'd done... She never had to live with it or inspect it. She gently leaned herself forward to look into the bathtub, this was the part that Deidara most likely thought was disgusting... This was the part that made her really scream and run out and into her bedroom... Yes, the body was still in there... A identity though was impossible to figure out, there was no sign of a face... It was scratched off. Konan felt like she was going to be sick all over again. Nope, she definitely didn't have Itachi's stomach for handling with disfiguring' corpses and having it in their home. She wouldn't mind so much if it wasn't in their place but it was the fact that someone had aimed this at her and it was in her area. She could barely stand looking at the body itself though... There was bite marks on the body... Like someone had taken chunks out him or her... Konan felt herself gag. She thought she could handling the scene now but it was obvious that she couldn't, did this person get killed over her? Did the killer purposefully kill and mutilate this person to give her the message and be her gift? Or did he do this for another reason? She hated the thought of someone having to die for no reason at all. She was all to happy to kill people and such but only because they were usually her target or they got in her way or rubbed her up the wrong way.

Konan felt like she couldn't take being in the room anymore and quickly turned around to rush out of the bathroom. The door had shut just a little on her while she was in there and she noticed that there was a note for her on the back of the door that was being held there by a kunai. She quickly walked over, minding on where she stepped and snatched the note viciously with her hand.

"We're a perfect match!

Xxxxxx "

Konan read out, she just frowned and screwed it into a ball and threw it onto the floor. With that she opened the door totally and let herself out to go find Pein in his bedroom...


	6. Being Comfortable and Uncomfortable

**Secret Santa**

**Happy Xmas 2007! This a mostly a Konan fic with a bit of Pein, my current favourite characters from Naruto that I like to write on, couldn't resist making my Xmas fanfiction for the year on them : ) This is most likely a couple part piece, it's to long as a whole one shot. Hope you enjoy this piece.**

**Konan finds a note for her talking about a secret Santa for her this year and thinks it's from Pein. Is it from Pein? Or someone else...?**

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"What's wrong?" Pein asked for the millionth time during the time that Konan finally got to his bedroom.

"Why'd you keep asking me that?" Konan asked huffily, annoyed at being asked over and over again.

"I was just asking." Pein replied defensively. "Is it still about the bathroom?"

"Yea... Sort of..." Konan replied softly. "Who've you got in mind to clean it?"

"Zetsu." Pein answered simply.

"How'd you get him to do it?" Konan asked in amazement, didn't picture Zetsu as much of a cleaner.

"He'll do what I tell him." Pein answered firmly. "Besides, considering Zetsu eats people he won't hate having to see an eaten body, will he? Other than Itachi I couldn't think of any of the others standing it."

Both of them were now in Pein's bedroom and by the time Konan reached the bedroom Pein had already started to take some of her stuff out of the bags and set them up around the room. Some of her clothes were already in his wardrobe and personal stuff scattered around the room.

After the clean up discussion was finished she had to ask... "Are you sure you don't mind me staying in here?"

"I'm sure, why?"

"It don't bother you that you won't have your privacy? And it doesn't bother you that my stuff will be all over the place? I'm pretty sure you'd not like seeing my girl stuff." Konan questioned.

"It's no problem, Konan." Pein replied blankly. "It doesn't bother me. I already know what you do and all the things you do and have. Your my partner and childhood friend, you won't be doing anything I won't already know."

"Thanks." Konan blushed slightly.

"There's nothing else?" Pein asked out of the blue.

"Nothing else?" Konan returned the questioning.

"Nothing worrying you? Is the bathroom incident... All the problems you've had? Or has there been something else?" Pein defined his question.

"..." Konan just looked at the ground from sitting on the bed.

"There is isn't there?" Pein continued after seeing her facial expression.

"It's nothing, Pein. Honestly. Just someone hassling me." Konan quickly defended, not wanting her stressful partner to get involved. "I can handle it myself."

"... If you can't... Just tell me. I don't like 'people' bothering you." Pein warned.

Konan didn't reply, just got up and sat at the dressing table and pick up a hair brush. She was sure, plain and simple. She didn't want Pein involved, what if it even was Pein? Then again... Why? Why would he do all that? Just for her to sleep in his bedroom? Well, whatever. She wasn't going to ask him! She was already ready for bed and would just be happy to finish this horrid day. She gently brushed through her mid blue silk like hair and was careful on how she was doing it. She looked in the mirror and noticed Pein watching her carefully in it's reflection. What was the matter with him? Hadn't he seen a girl brush her hair before? She saw his eye's almost soften... Content? Comfortable? Konan decided to not bother asking or mentioning anything, he'd only go all defensive anyway. He never liked admitting any emotion or feeling, he'd claimed to have lost those things a long time ago... Plus it would just put him into a foul mood.

This went on for another 10 minutes, without his eye's leaving her, seemed to love looking at her and her brushing her hair. "Ready for bed?" Pein finally cut into the silence and motioned himself into the massive double bed.

With that Konan yawned slightly. "Sure, I'm getting tired." Konan quickly took out her paper flower from her soft blue hair. She got up and got herself into the massive double bed, her taking the place opposite Pein. Tugged up the duvet and totally covered herself with it. "Do you want me to get the light?" Konan asked.

"No, let me do it." Pein said in an insistent voice.

Konan just snuggled herself further into the comfy bed and rolled onto her side as Pein quickly clicked off the bedroom light and made his way into the double bed. Konan shut both of her eyes and sighed to herself comfortably, was happy to just go and get some sleep.

"! Pein?" Konan exclaimed, eye's snapping open when she felt a pair of arms wrap around her waist after a couple of minutes in bed.

"..."

"Pein? What are you doing?" Konan continued to question, now trying to tilt herself a little back so she could look at Pein. Pein's swirling eye's could still be made out, even in the dark and they were looking right back at her.

"Don't you remember?" Pein finally asked back, eyes still firmly on hers.

"Remember?" Konan repeated slowly.

"... We used to do this..." Pein replied, trying to jog her memory.

"... When we were kid's..." Konan added, finally realising where they used to do this. "You used to do this every night at one point, when we were younger..."

"Yea..." Pein sighed.

"We did that because it made each other feel... Comfortable... Like our way of hugging... And protection..." Konan continued and then turned a little bit more to look at him in the face more. "Why you doing it now?"

"... Almost out of habit I guess..." Pein replied in a softer tone of voice than usual. "I felt worried for you I guess today... And doing this made me comfortable... You mind? If you do I won't."

"... It's fine... I guess... Just don't make me jump like that again!" Konan commanded back at him for once, it was usually him doing the commanding. But then again... Pein was acting weird anyway and doing things like this, a bit off character for him. She wondered why... Maybe he just had a lot on his mind recently... And he didn't like today's stunt so that got him going into a bit more of a defensive mode... Like when she came back from that mission yesterday.

Pein nodded and tucked his arms comfortably around her waist better and nearly snuggled into her a bit. "I just remember as kids..." Pein said in a soft yet blank tone. "We could only ever rely on each other... We never knew whether we would ever get attacked in the night... Or got separated... Times were so hard for us... Doing this was what made us comfortable, like a hug from parent to others..."

"Yea. I guess I never remembered it that way... Till now." Konan nodded. "Neither of us had our parents... This was one of the ways to make the other comfortable..." Konan finally understood Pein and let her body relax from it's rigid state of shock and question. He didn't mean it as an offence or anything really sexual, just felt the need of doing it, almost a feeling dating back to them as children. Surprising to her... It was an actual comfort... After those notes and such, she did feel more protected in Pein's arms. "Night."

"Night." Pein returned to the word and watched her turn back into her previous state and closed her eye's. She let Pein get comfortable again behind her and didn't mind that his arm grip tightened slightly. While Konan slowly drifted off into a relaxed and deep sleep Pein was a different case. For a good chunk of time his eyes remained wide and alert and just looked straight ahead into the back of Konan's head. Smelled her hair gently since he was so closed to her, it smelled sweet and actually made him relax slowly...

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**"Say what!?" **Yelled the black half of Zetsu.

"What he means is... Why should we clean that mess?" The white side added.

"You heard me, Zetsu. I know it was you that made that disgusting pigsty of a mess in my partners bathroom." Pein said firmly. "No one else leaves half eaten humans in this organisation."

**"Oh, as if you didn't know before?" **Zetsu's dark half laughed back.

"Guess there's no way of getting myself out of it is there?" The white side sighed sadly.

"Nope, you created it, you clean it up." Pein frowned with his common blank tone of voice. "I didn't find it funny."

**"You two just haven't got a sense of humour." **Sneered the dark half. **"Besides, consider it a favour."**

"How do you figure that?" Pein replied, his annoyed eye's going into slits.

**"It got Konan into your bed." **The dark side laughed evilly a little.

"You're disgusting you know that." Pein shook his head slightly.

"My dark side just speaks the common truth." The white side replied, almost sweetly like, creepy.

"Just get on." Pein demanded. "... You know what else to do..."

**"Crystal clear." **Zetsu's dark side smirked as Pein walked off.

"Perfectly clear, keep our head down... For now..." The white side smirked with the dark part.

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"Zetsu, you're an idiot." Itachi slammed the comment to the plant as some of them sat in the group room.

"Plus disgusting, un." Deidara added, shaking his head in disgust.

"You're not the first to say that to me today." The white side joked lightly.

"Possibly because it's true, un." Deidara hissed back. "Call that nasty thing you did in her bathroom a gift? What were you thinking?"

"I was being... Unique." Zetsu's white half replied simply.

"You just better watch it." Kisame warned. "No more adding stuff."

**"Will you lot quit acting like it's the worst thing in the world!" **The dark side boomed. **"It's not like it's had that 'bad' of an effect on what HE wanted anyway. In fact, I call that doing him a favour."**

"No, that's almost getting her to _hate _him." Kisame corrected firmly.

**"That's not the way I saw it last night." **The dark side sassed back.

"Oh!... Not more sneaking!? That almost got you caught last time! Un!" Deidara exclaimed with disappointment for his fellow member.

**"Why not? It's what I do best." **

"You shouldn't have almost gotten caught, then." Itachi hissed.

"We think you've done enough." Kisame continued the hiss.

"Whatever." The white side hissed, not liking being told what to do.

_"Just do as they say!" _Boomed the voice down suddenly, making Zetsu jump a little but only for a miniature of a second.

"What are you lot doing in here then?..." All of them looked to the direction of where the voice came from to reveal Konan.

"Nothing, un." Deidara replied casually as she came and sat down. All of them knew already, conversation was over.

**"Enjoy your night with the Leader?" **The dark part almost giggled at Konan.

"Don't mind him, Konan." The white side attempted to correct. "He just woke up in a funny mood."

Konan just nodded slowly and frowned at the dark sides comment. "Me and him are just partners. Nothing more. You've just got a dirty mind."

**"Whatever." **Zetsu smirked at her and he strangely seemed to enjoy watching her too. Was something up with this place or something?

"Shouldn't you be fixing my bathroom?" Konan shot back at Zetsu.

**"I'll do it when I'm good and ready. Maybe I'd just like to sit here and stare at you for a while."** Zetsu continued to smirk and not take his eye's off her.

"You better soon, I want my room back this century." Konan barked back, now getting annoyed with him. His stare was now starting to make her feel uncomfortable, it was a creepy stare. A very creepy stare.

"Oh come on, Konan." Smiled the white side sweetly, sickeningly sweet. "Get into the holiday spirit." With that both sides did a wink.

Konan felt suddenly sick, was he the 'Secret Santa' or was she just jumping into things? Seeing signs that weren't there? Was it Zetsu? But... Why? In fact he was supposed to be one of the mature one's and higher placed. She guessed it made sense if he did do it... Who else is a cannibal here!? But then again... Why would he want to send her supposedly 'romantic' Christmas notes? Did he even celebrate anything? If it was him... Why would he be bothered with her? Did he like her himself? Konan's head was whirling with all these questions and thoughts, she couldn't take looking at him anymore and shoved her direction to another part of the room. She didn't have an answer for what he'd just said...

All of a sudden Itachi appeared in front of the plant and grabbed his wrist. His eye's looking like daggers at him, very annoyed slits. "Go on, Zetsu. Let's go and make a start on her bathroom." He said in his mono toned voice, which was now hinted with a tad of annoyance.

**"Aw... Me and Konan were having a conversation. Can't it wait?" **The dark side replied with a sneaky smirk on it's face.

"Now." Itachi hissed bluntly, showing he meant it in his face.

**"Fine, fine. Don't get you're knickers in a twist." **It sighed and got up and followed Itachi out of the group room.

"Itachi wants to help Zetsu clean up?" Konan asked suspiciously, now looking in Deidara and Kisame's directions.

Both looked like they were searching for words to explain that. "Well it'll only take longer if we waited for just Zetsu to do it. He's so lazy." Kisame commented briefly.

"Plus none of the others are going to help Zetsu, un. That bathroom is disgusting and Itachi's the only one that isn't... Well... Nothing grosses him out or bothers him. Un." Deidara added.

"Yea, I guess..." Konan sighed, leaning back into her official seat. She could now relax a little, now with Zetsu and his creepiness out of the room. What was with him? He was acting so off for him, too. Not to anyone else, just her. Doing creepy staring and acting almost 'rude' to her, or at least acting with a dirty mind. Deidara and Kisame stayed in the group room with her and all was relaxed, at least they weren't acting to far off with her...


	7. Moods And Revelations

**Secret Santa**

**Happy Xmas 2007! This a mostly a Konan fic with a bit of Pein, my current favourite characters from Naruto that I like to write on, couldn't resist making my Xmas fanfiction for the year on them : ) This is most likely a couple part piece, it's to long as a whole one shot. Hope you enjoy this piece.**

**Konan finds a note for her talking about a secret Santa for her this year and thinks it's from Pein. Is it from Pein? Or someone else...?**

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"Oh back then?" Kisame commented when he saw his partner enter back into the group room.

"Konan's gone now, un." Deidara added.

"Yea. Where'd she go?" Itachi replied blankly as he went and sat in his usual seat.

"Dunno, un." Deidara replied. "She said she had to get away for now."

"Don't blame her really." Kisame added to the subject. "Zetsu almost gave us away! What the hell was he thinking? Saying such comments..."

"Why do you think I made him leave?" Itachi replied. "He was ruining everything. I don't know what he's playing at, did he want her to know or something?"

"Don't know." Kisame sighed in return. "But that stupid plant is going to ruin everything before Christmas Day at this rate."

"Does it really matter whether it comes out before Christmas Day?" Itachi asked in a mono tone..

"Yes, un. That's what _he's _planned and we're not changing it anymore than it is, un." Deidara frowned. "Besides, at this rate when he reveals on Christmas Day she's going to hate him or something, un. All because of Zetsu's stupid little acts."

"Don't see what he's got to gain from all this..." Itachi sighed.

"You don't think..." Deidara started, eye's widening in realisation.

"Oh, what's wrong with you now?" Itachi hissed.

"No Itachi." Kisame butted in. "Deidara strikes an interesting thought, actually."

"I'm not seeing you're point..." Itachi replied blankly.

"Zetsu, think of all those actions he's been doing in the past 3 days." Kisame pushed, trying to get his partner to grasp the point.

All of a sudden Itachi's eye's widened just a little bit, realisation just hitting him. "You... You two think that Zetsu's... Got something for... _Her_?" He for once was a little stunned.

"Exactly the point, un." Deidara nodded.

"It would explain his strange actions. I did find it a little weird when he did keep on spying on her, even if he was on this project, he was doing it unnecessarily all the time." Kisame explained his thoughts.

"And you think Zetsu could be trying to 'undermine' our plans?" Itachi added.

"To right, un." Deidara gasped back at him. "By the looks of it, for his own personal reasons."

"That explains why he wanted to be the 'leader' of this project so bad." Itachi sighed.

"I can't believe we haven't spotted these stupid little things he was doing..." Kisame sighed as well.

"Yea, well... What are we going to do about it? Un." Deidara asked finally. "We can't just let this project slide."

"You're right." Kisame replied plainly. "We just need to hang on the plan for less than 2 more days. It's Christmas Eve tomorrow, we have make it work."

"I say all we can do is watch him very carefully." Itachi suggested in his mono toned voice.

"That'll be hard, since he's so good at moving quickly, un." Deidara reminded with a bit of annoyance.

"Well he's not going to want to admit he's got feelings for anything." Itachi replied casually.

"Yea, he's not going to admit anything." Kisame agreed. "So good chances are he's going to continue with what he has been doing. Don't let him know we're on to him and he won't really run."

"I guess..." Deidara sighed with annoyance that they couldn't do much. Other than kill him and even that would be really hard. "Why don't you want this project to drop, Itachi? I thought you couldn't care less about much, un."

"..." Itachi just turned and glared at Deidara for a while until he found his wording. "I don't work on something for it to get dropped or messed with. If I do something like a project, it's going all the way through if I've got something to do with it." Itachi growled, for once showing a bit of strong backbone. He usually couldn't be assed to do much but he felt like they'd put so much work into the project and he wasn't having them all having their time wasted. "It'll be like letting a client down and you don't get your bounty because you've let them down, where you haven't tried you're hardest. And I'm trying my hardest, if you haven't noticed, I'm not letting it go down the pan. Just because one of our own is back-stabbing us."

Kisame and Deidara nodded strongly to what Itachi was saying, it had to be considered a mission. And what did you do for a mission? Not stop until you get what you need done and work around kinks that have aroused. "But is this really enough to even be called a mission?" Kisame questioned.

"Yes it is, un." Deidara replied.

"Yea but it's a mission for _inside _our organisation." Kisame continued to state. "Like for a member to another member."

"A mission is a mission." Itachi replied simply. "It's come from an higher authority in this place too."

"Plus we don't care really about anyone else, which means sometimes we have to... Stick together... Un." Deidara struggled to get his words out, they sounded foreign to him and none ever discussed of such things. They just automatically knew the rules and game play when they entered this place and got to know each other. "I mean... If we came across one of our own getting attacked, we hardly just going to ignore them and let them bleed to death, un."

The other two nodded, also thinking the words just sounded so strange to them. They all couldn't wait for this 'project' to be over and so the inside of the organisation could become more stable again. It was bad enough being against everybody else in the world but to be sneaking around their own wasn't doing any of them any good. In fact making it just purely worse, they'll still need to work together after all of this.

"I swear, no one in this place better ever ask me to do a Christmas favour or give Christmas to them ever." Itachi hissed with annoyance finally, eye's now back into common blank slit form. "This is the only favour of a lifetime you'll ever see me doing."

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Konan quietly sat in the highest room in the place, it was attached to the roof and didn't have much wall but still was perfect shelter for her to sit and watch things without getting splashed by the rain. She hated the rain, everything that it did. She felt it was just her stupid luck to get born into, what she considers, the most worst country of them all. Quite often she even loathed this being her home country, it never did anything good for her. Plus to make it worse she had a partner that controlled the rain and loved making it rain wherever they were. However she couldn't totally bitch about him though, when she had to leave the place or anything he stopped the rain and gave her a dry path to use. He knew she hated it so much and that she couldn't really work in the wet. At least he was observant...

The rain did have one quality though... One that she did like... It gave such a steady and relaxing beat, as long as the water didn't go on her she liked it. She liked going to this room often, to calm herself from her current stressful life. Loads of the others knew better than to disturb her when she was in there, except for Pein and she only aloud him in there with her because he'll be quiet and do what she asked, plus the nightmare known as...

"Hey Konan!" Shrieked a voice and the body let itself into the room.

"Tobi..." Konan almost hissed under breath, the one voice she didn't want to hear.

"Just coming to let you know Kakazu and Hidan are back from their mission." Tobi stated, walking over to her and sitting beside her on the bench that she sat on, the only thing to sit on in the room.

"Back already, huh?" Konan gave a semi interested voice. "Didn't think the'd be back this quick."

"It wasn't that big of a mission. Leader-Sama seems to be having the team go easy on themselves at the moment, maybe he's getting into the season." Tobi started to get excited at the thought of what season it was.

"Doubt it." Konan snorted to that comment.

"Why?"

"My partner doesn't do soft touch moments, really. Nor does he ever get into the season of anything, he most likely couldn't care less." Konan explained simply.

"But he put up the decorations, really pretty." Tobi added.

"I don't know why he's done that..." Konan sighed, did she really know anything of what's going on recently? She seemed to be so out of the loop on things happening recently, she wasn't really the correct person to ask anything from.

"But..." Tobi tried to continue.

"Enough Tobi." Konan snapped at him finally. "I'm trying to... Relax my mind."

"I thought you hated the rain." Tobi raised his eyebrow.

"I only like it this way, it's got a great view..." Konan almost gave a small smile, trying to get herself comfortable again.

"Yea... I saw the state of the bathroom..." Tobi mentioned, not what Konan had wanted to hear about.

"Zetsu getting work?" Konan asked briefly, still getting a shiver down her spine every-time she heard about Zetsu or the bathroom. At least her 'Secret Santa' hadn't bothered her since, thank god!

"Only just... Not even bothering to work quickly. He can be so lazy." Tobi commented. "At his rate he's going to have that thing fixed for ages."

"Darn him..." Konan cussed.

"Hmm?" Tobi put on an questioning face with what she said.

"Nothing." Konan replied quickly. "He's... Just gotten on my nerves recently..."

Tobi nodded slowly. "No plan for anything else today?"

"... Why?" Konan asked cautiously, what was he after?

"Don't get so worried all the time, Konan!" Tobi burst out, a little giggle to his voice. Making her sound really silly for worrying about things all the time. Then again... She did worry a hell of a lot. And she often over thought things way to much, she just considered herself as cautious.

Konan blushed at his comment, did look that on edge? "Sorry..." She sighed slowly and continued to look out at the rain.

"I was wondering... Well... If you wanted to go into the town/city with me..." Tobi asked carefully, not wanting to really annoy her with his stupid suggestions.

"..." Konan didn't know how to reply to that. Should she? Get out of the place a little bit and try and lift her spirits a little? But then again... Did she really want to spend a few hours with Tobi? The annoying pest of the century. Plus it wasn't just raining outside, it was turning into a full on storm out there. Which just proved that Pein's mood wasn't a good one. "I don't know... I can't go in that rain..."

"... Oh yea... I forgot you and rain don't mix..." Tobi sighed.

"No one else?" Konan asked thoughtfully.

"Na, all seem to be busy. Plus none are much fun..." Tobi continued to sigh but now with a pout.

"I think it'd be good for you to go out..." Came a voice from behind, making both of them jump.

Konan's head spun around to see Pein in the flesh, standing behind her with his arms crossed firmly. "Pein! I didn't hear you..." Konan blushed a little.

"I think it's a good idea for you to go out a bit... Ease your mind a little..." Pein repeated and added, not flinching for a second and stayed still like a statue.

"But what about your rain?" Konan gasped. "You never like to stop your rain. The villagers will think somethings wrong..."

"They'll have to deal with it." Pein replied plainly, still not moving. Just keeping direct contact through the eyes with his female partner. "It might be nice... To see the Christmas lights... They can be stunning at this time of the day, just dark enough to see them."

"All of us could go!" Tobi clapped excitedly.

"Just us three, I've got enough of a headache as it is." Pein grunted.

"... Ok Pein... If you're sure..." Konan replied cautiously, what was wrong with her Pein? He usually couldn't give a crap about any such things.

"I'm sure." Pein said firmly and turned to leave the room.

Tobi just started getting up, looking as excited as ever. Konan however sat there for a moment wondering, what the hell was going on around here? There must be something she's missing... Why had Pein decided to change himself a bit ever so suddenly? He hated change. "Come on, Konan. Don't want to keep Leader-Sama waiting!" Tobi urged with excitement and waited by the door till he watched her get up come with him...


	8. Tobi Knows It All

**Secret Santa**

**Happy Xmas 2007! This a mostly a Konan fic with a bit of Pein, my current favourite characters from Naruto that I like to write on, couldn't resist making my Xmas fanfiction for the year on them : ) This is most likely a couple part piece, it's to long as a whole one shot. Hope you enjoy this piece.**

**Konan finds a note for her talking about a secret Santa for her this year and thinks it's from Pein. Is it from Pein? Or someone else...?**

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The three figures stood just into the sheltered porch as they waited for one of them to do the much needed hand signs. All three wearing the traditional cloak/robe for their organisation, all wearing the hats too.

"What's with the hat's?" Tobi demanded with annoyance as he fiddled with his on his head. "Why do we need them?"

"Yes Pein, why?" Konan added.

"... You never know who could be in the village at the time of our looking..." Pein answered simply.

"Well it's not like we're travelling or going into an enemy country." Tobi continued to persist.

"You heard what I said." Pein shot back blankly, eyes clearly showing he wasn't budging from any decision. "Plus there's just a little travel from here to the very centre of the village. Season or no season, we don't take risks of any kind. Understand?"

Both Konan and Tobi nodded back simply, there wasn't any point of arguing with him, he clearly wasn't going to change his mind. And in a way he had a point... True the centre of the village was just a short distance but in their area of career you could never be to careful. There could be anyone waiting around for one of the members, to try and do a assassination for things like money, all of them were common news and wanted. They'd be safe though when they'd reached the main part, the village basically worshipped them, especially Pein and Konan, no one had higher power. But you could never be to safe on the outer edges, like where their place was, sure most are just loyal villagers but you never knew who was sneaking around there. The centre seemed to be much tighter for security and was a place where all knew each other and if there was someone they didn't recognise they would be alerted and caught out. It meant they had perfect safety there, compared to safeish outer where it wasn't 100.

"When we reach our destination you can remove it." Pein continued. "Last thing I need right now is for us to have a close call, especially near the base. We can't afford for us to get caught out and our base known."

They continued to nod. "You're right. With our plans coming closer and closer to being finished we can't afford it." Konan agreed. "Not that I think there would be a sneak about around here, there isn't usually and if there was then there would be a good chance they'd get caught and ambushed by the villagers. They really don't like outsiders, especially when you've told them you don't like intruders."

"I know... But like I said... Not taking any chances. It's our job to be careful, Konan." Pein replied sternly back. He didn't care about the trust level of the village, he wasn't risking it where he didn't feel 100 comfortable. "It won't take long, anyway."

After talking he quickly lifted his hands and started to hastily do his hand signals. Within a moment Pein was finished and dropped his arms to his sides. Another few moments later the rain started to show that it was slowing down quickly. A few minutes after the hand signs the dark rain clouds started to depart and clear night skies started showing through, along with taking the rain away with them.

"Villagers will so be worried..." Tobi fretted as they started to walk along.

"They'll get over it." Pein replied bluntly. "Maybe they'll even enjoy the break from the rain."

"Yea, Tobi... I guess no one likes the rain all the time." Konan agreed but looked to her side to see her partner glaring at her. "Well... With the exception of Pein, who controls the rain." She quickly corrected.

"I guess... Not everybody can like the rain like I do..." Pein added blankly, now looking straight ahead of them.

"Well no one else can control it." Tobi stated but didn't get a reply.

_"Show your respect!" _Hissed a voice, as the trio were walking, people stopped and starred at them.

_"Sorry! I didn't realise!" _Another voice replied to the other and both of the people bowed in sign of respect. Everybody Tobi, Konan and Pein passed stopped and bowed with respect to them, like royalty. Tobi grinned to himself, happy to be recognised and respected. Konan and Pein however just carried on like normal, had been getting the same responses for a good chunk of their lives. In the villagers eye's the pair could do no wrong and it meant that their organisation is the same. For once, wearing the Akatsuki clothing meant respect and not fear.

All of them continued to walk on to the centre of the village without really muttering a word to each other. Konan however started to get a bit of an uncomfortable feeling though as they walked, Pein kept glancing on her. Why was that? She was starting to hate having Pein as company sometimes, every time they were together he would seemed to stare at her in fascination. Why? They'd been together all of their lives, she hadn't changed anything about herself but here he was, looking at her as if he was only just getting to know her again.

"Something the matter, Pein?" Konan finally asked when they were near the centre, unable to take much more of his unanswered staring. She glared at him, giving him direct eye contact.

Pein looked stunned for moment, like a child that had just been caught with it's hand in the cookie jar.

"Cool!" Tobi suddenly butted before she could get a reply from Pein and both of them turned their attentions to their 3rd wheel. Tobi raced on a little ahead, they'd just entered into the centred part of the village and the Christmas lights hung everywhere and were all still dripping a little from the not so long ago down pour. Even though wet, they were all stunning and had tons of people going around to watch and look at them. Tons of little kids running around excitedly and smiling at the decorations.

Konan's lips at the edges start to rise just a little, revealing a little quirky smile. This was the first time in many years that she'd seen such a sight, let alone experienced it. Even as a kid... She couldn't really enjoy things like this. She had no family... No happiness... With the war going on as a child there wasn't much of this. She remembered briefly as a very young child she used to go around their area with her parents, look at the lights. There wasn't much point looking in the shops that were open late for the Christmas season... The blue haired girl came from a very poor family... She never got much... But she was always happy with what she did get mind you. After her parents' deaths she stopped... It was such a struggle...

"I knew you'd like it..." Pein sighed blankly, glancing over at his partner that was standing by his side.

"You did?" Konan questioned.

"We used to look at the lights too... When we were younger and able to..." Pein reminded her.

"Yea..." Now Konan remembered, she did know Pein before her parents' deaths... Of course by a different name but... His parents' deaths were very close to hers... Being kids her and Pein used to run around their area and be amazed by the season and all the decorations. They'd been so happy then... It was before he changed... "Tobi acts just like a big kid." She commented finally, trying to snap herself out of her over annotated thoughts.

"... Nothing new here..." Pein replied blankly. "We can remove our hats now."

Konan nodded at him and proceeded with him to remove their hats, Pein had now deemed it safe to go on without them. She trusted him, when he said it was safe it must be safe. He was usually never wrong... About anything. A bit of a know it all really. Plus he had a keen sense of sensing any threatening chakra's a mile off. With her hat off she used her hands to quickly brush all the loose strands of her hair back into place. She also checked that her flower was stable in her hair and dropped her hands to her side when she was satisfied with her appearance.

"Let's continue..." Pein said blankly, eye's trying to follow where Tobi had started to head off. "Guess we shouldn't lose him..."

"Most likely not a good idea." Konan sighed in agreement, letting an excited Tobi out into a Christmas season crowd could only end in disaster. "... You never answered my question..." She finally added after a moment, by that time they were both walking and looking at the lights.

"... Why? Don't you like me looking at you?" Pein replied quickly and defensively with a slight blush on his face.

"... It's alright..." Konan replied, now feeling bad that she was making him feel a little off. But then again she also had a nagging feeling that something wasn't correct with him. Why was he bothering to do this kind of thing with her now? She had just so many questions... But was obvious that Pein enjoyed being tight lipped about things, never liked talking about personal things. "Was just wondering... That was all... What gave you idea to come out here?"

"... I thought you needed cheering up... You've seemed so stressed recently. Thought it would take your mind off things for a bit..." Pein replied roughly.

"Thanks Pein." Konan replied sweetly, giving him an almost gentle smile.

"For what?" Pein questioned.

"For being where I needed you..." Konan replied. Pein just replied with a nod of understandment and gave an almost smile back. Konan was stunned for a moment to get an almost genuine smile from him, very rare was an understatement. It definitely gave her the certainty that he was being sincere, whatever he was really up to.

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"Tobi!" Konan growled finally when her and Pein finally caught up to him, disturbing people like usual with his sickeningly sweet non stop chatting.

"Stop bothering the people." Pein added, also in a growl.

Tobi stopped in his tracks and let the two catch up with him and stopped annoying the other people trying to look at the lights. "I wasn't annoying them." Tobi stated plainly. "Just trying to have some fun."

"Well don't." Pein replied bluntly. "We came to have a _quiet _and fun time. Not bother the village with you're disturbances."

Tobi just sighed from Pein's blunt comment and continued to act happy. "I see you both got you're hats off now, does that mean I can now?"

"Yes." Pein grunted and both him and his partner watched Tobi drag it off his head.

"Enjoying the lights?" Tobi asked happily to Konan. "Cheering you up?"

"Yes, their very nice." Konan replied with a slight soft tone of voice. "I haven't seen them in the longest time."

"Good, you looked so down earlier." Tobi smiled, still in excited mode.

After a few moments of silence Konan's head turned to a small store and wandered over to it's window. "I remember this store ages ago... I wonder..." She said softly, almost to herself as she wandered over.

Pein and Tobi stood in the same place and just watched Konan wander over to the close by store a few yards away. Tobi suddenly turned his head to face Pein now but now his excited and childish mood had gone. In place he looked very serious and showed it. "I know what you're up too." Tobi said in a matter of fact kind of voice.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Pein replied sternly, noticing the casual difference in Tobi's attitude.

"You've got most of Akatsuki working for you on this 'project'." Tobi persisted.

"What's you're problem?" Pein sneered, understanding now what Tobi was going on about and wasn't happy about it being revealed.

"No problem." Tobi replied simply. "Just thought..."

"Thought what?" Pein still showing his stern face.

"Romance... It was never you're kind of thing..." Tobi commented casually. His eye's still looking on where Konan was standing, checking she wasn't overhearing what they were saying.

"Who said the 'project' was being done for me?" Pein sneered defensively.

"Oh come on Pein... You're that obvious." Tobi sighed.

"You didn't find out about this through any of the others?" Pein questioned, totally focused on Tobi.

"Na... Even though some were acting a little off..." Tobi replied, still casual. "You're a dead give away all by yourself. I've seen the way you look at her."

"What do you want?" Pein demanded bluntly. "Why do you care?"

"I want nothing actually..." Tobi defended himself. "I just want the best for this organisation, you know that. I wanted to make sure that you're... New found feelings as we say... Get in the way of things."

"Of course not." Pein replied sternly. "It's all private stuff. Akatsuki has got nothing really to do with it, some are just helping me because I needed it."

"Good to hear. As long as that's all it is and if you and her do get it together it's between just you and her, I don't want it affecting our goals." Tobi warned.

"It won't." Pein promised. "You going to come down hard on me then for it?"

"I should... I would've liked to be in on the 'project' and knew that feelings were growing between a member and another, not kept in the dark." Tobi replied sternly and walked up to Pein and started to show that he was going to walk past him. _"But I think it's sweet... I was wondering how long it'd take for more feelings to surface between you two. You've known each other so long..." _Tobi started to whisper sickeningly sweet into Pein's ear. _"She's a perfect girl... To bad she's slow on the grasping... Good luck on you're catch and beware of that Zetsu... He's in for causing some trouble..."_ Once Tobi had said what he wanted he continued to walk on past Pein and put on his other personality and went over to chat to Konan a few yards away, who was still starring in the shop window. Pein just turned to stare at Tobi, who was now chatting with her and gave an annoyed looked from his eyes...


	9. Feather Locket

**Secret Santa**

**Happy Xmas 2007! This a mostly a Konan fic with a bit of Pein, my current favourite characters from Naruto that I like to write on, couldn't resist making my Xmas fanfiction for the year on them : ) This is most likely a couple part piece, it's to long as a whole one shot. Hope you enjoy this piece.**

**Konan finds a note for her talking about a secret Santa for her this year and thinks it's from Pein. Is it from Pein? Or someone else...?**

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Pein looked cross for a moment but then let it drop and walked over to where Tobi and Konan were standing. Pein hated his plans being found out and he hated even more that it was possible that Zetsu was really plotting under him. But of course he couldn't visually show it, didn't want Konan getting more suspicious than what she already was.

"What are you looking at?" Tobi questioned in his common excited voice. "Huh? Konan?"

"Give me a chance to speak back." Konan shot back at Tobi but soon let it go. "That." She pointed at a stunning locket that was in an antique shop. "I can't believe it's here..." She added with a sigh.

"That feather shaped locket?" Tobi questioned after following the direction of Konan's finger.

"Yep." Konan sighed again.

"You act like you've seen this trinket before... " Tobi continued.

"Because she has..." Pein butted in. "I can't believe this old shop is still here..."

"Neither can I..." Konan sighed yet again.

"Does someone mind filling me in?" Tobi demanded, almost jumping up and down for wanting to know.

"When we were young we used to come and watch the lights and decorations, when our parents were alive..." Pein started but Konan butted in.

"And this was the only shop I ever bothered to look in or at... Not that I could ever afford anything out of here... My family was poor and I just got poorer after their deaths, homeless even... I just loved looking at the stuff here, it's special and all the stuff were specially made and one of a kind." Konan explained with a hinge of sadness in her voice as she spoke.

"Ah..." Tobi sighed, understanding her pain at the same time as describing the shop. "Then why the feather locket? You sounded like you know it well..."

"Because it was supposed to be for me..." Konan replied sadly, eye's locked on the object.

"Hmm? Yours?" Tobi replied with confusion etched on his face and body language.

"My birthday was coming up at the time... An important one... They ordered this to be specially created by the finest jewellery maker in the village... He worked at this shop..." Konan explained.

"I thought your parents were supposed to be poor..." Tobi stated.

"My parents died a few days before that birthday... On my mothers death she admitted the present to me and her and my father had scrimped and saved silently for years to get me something customary done for me, something to remember them by just in case they didn't survive the war." Konan explained, super sadness had for once gripped her. She wasn't one for showing sadness or anything but seeing this object again brought back feelings. "They were going to have my name inscribed on it for me..."

"And you didn't get it?" Tobi pushed on for her to continue her little short story.

"No..." Konan sighed with disappointment.

"But it was specially made for you and everything... They had the money and everything, right?" Tobi continued to push.

"People had stolen the money for it..." Konan sighed again. "By the time I finally got to back to this shop to explain the situation they had already turned around and said they had sold it, without the inscription being put in... My parents had left it to late to pay for it and to tell what was happening... I gave up thinking and looking for it... Never saw it again... Till now."

"Almost like destiny to be found, huh?" Tobi replied, now looking back at the feather shaped locket.

"Yea... I guess... Someone must have sold it and it made it's way back here... Somehow..." Konan replied, eye's fixated on the locket in the window.

"Konan...?"

"Yea, Tobi?"

"Why a feather?" Tobi asked inquisitively. "I've never seen a feather shaped locket before..."

"Because I used to be called their 'angel'... Like I am to everybody today. I used to be their 'little angel' when I was growing up..." Konan explained. "The feather represented my invisible wings. They wanted it to be unique, like they said I was unique."

"Oh you're unique Konan, or else you wouldn't be in Akatsuki." Tobi stated.

"I know..." Konan sighed back to the comment.

"Why don't we buy it back?" Tobi suggested softly. "It obviously means that much to you. It was even created for you."

"... I haven't got that kind of cash, none of us do." Konan replied with annoyance.

Both Tobi and Pein pulled faces of sadness for once and all of them looked once again at the locket sitting in the window. "I wonder whether anything was put inside it?" Pein questioned softly as they continued to stare.

"Yea... Did your parents ever put something in it before hand?" Tobi added.

"I don't know... It was never discussed..." Konan answered but was unable to answer her fellow members question.

"I'm going in." Pein announced finally.

"Going in? Going in where?" Konan gasped as she watched Pein start to walk towards the front door of the shop.

"Here." Pein replied bluntly. "We'll never know anything unless we ask."

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"Greetings Pein!" Greeted a very shocked shop keeper, starring at Pein as if it couldn't be true that he was standing right in front of her. "Or 'God' should I say?"

"Pein's fine." Pein replied blankly, not caring what a lowly ranked villager called him. It didn't really matter, did it?

"And what maybe I do for you?" She continued quickly, bowing out of respect to him.

Konan and Tobi followed Pein into the shop. "What are you doing?" Konan asked anxiously as she took a spot right next to her larger than herself partner.

"What do you think I'm doing?" Pein replied in a 'duh' kind of voice.

"Pein... Just leave it, Ok?" Konan pleaded with him, not wanting to cause any hassle. Not on the Christmas season and in their village. "We can't afford it."

"Greetings 'God's Angel'!" The shopkeeper exclaimed when she saw Konan enter. Who doesn't know of the great 'God's Angel' of this village? She was a legend in many places in the world. Konan just replied with a simple nod and turned her attention back to Pein, she was more than used to all the attention that she causes due to her status. "What a rare treat seeing you two together at the same time." The shopkeeper smiled. "Now... What may I help you both with?"

"That feather locket... In the window." Pein replied blankly, starring casually ahead.

"Oh! Nice choice, Pein." The shop clerk smiled and exclaimed. "Want to have a look?"

Pein just nodded simply.

"We can't afford it." Konan repeated sternly, looking at him firmly.

"Quit pestering, Konan." Pein glared back at her with firmness in his hypnotic eyes.

"But Pein..." Konan tried to persist.

"Enough." Pein said bluntly and stopped her dead in her tracks. "End of it, Konan."

Konan knew better than to provoke him anymore, he had that look in his eye and knew nothing good would come from her carrying it on. His glare was shattering, must be from a foul mood, she couldn't take anymore of it and looked away from his face.

"Sorry." His voice finally slipped out with. Konan looked back to see his eye's had softened a little, she just nodded, knowing that he was just sorry for being sharp with her.

"Here you are." The shop keeper said and produced the delicate looking feather locket. She placed the locket softly on the counter to be gently looked at. "Is there anything else I could help you two with?"

Konan shook her head for no but Pein continued to stare blankly at her and speak. "Yes. I've got a question about this actually." Pein spoke, hands softly picking up the strange shaped locket and he observed it.

"Yes?" She replied and waited for the question happily.

"What's inside it?" Pein asked simply, still looking around it's outside.

"That is unknown, Pein." She replied sharply.

"Unknown?" Pein questioned.

"Yes." She continued so she could explain what she meant. "This piece has been in and out of this shop for years. There's no problems selling it, it's stunning as you can see for yourself... It's just that the thing refuses to open..."

"Refuses to open?" Konan questioned this time.

"Yes, our angel. Since this thing has been made all those years ago it hasn't ever been able to be opened. Some of us even wonder whether it'll only open for a correct person or people maybe... It always seems to find it's way back here too... Because of the fact that it can't be used like it's supposed to." The shopkeeper continued explain. "Very strange piece indeed..."

"Hmm..." Pein grunted back in return. "That'll be all. I just wanted a look and to ask that question." He stated and handed the feather locket back to the shopkeeper. Pein then spun on his heel and headed out of the shop and Tobi just silently followed.

"Thank you." Konan thanked and bowed quickly and then shifted herself out of the small shop to follow her two comrades. "Pein... What was that all about?" Konan asked when she caught up with them both.

"I said it was nothing, Konan. I was just interested in my question being answered, did it have pictures of your parents in? And that stupid lady didn't have my answer." Pein replied bluntly.

"Yea... We're no closer to knowing..." Tobi sighed. "Weird story though... It's creepy how that locket seemed to reappear again and again... But then again you wouldn't have known that Konan since you haven't been to this store since like kids."

"Yea... I guess I just assumed with it being sold that I'd never find it again..." Konan sighed in return. "Don't know whether that was a good or bad thing seeing it again..."

"I think it was nice, reminding you of your past, it can be a good thing sometimes..." Tobi reassured. "But did sound like a tricky piece of jewellery."

"Yea... I'd never have such money for such a thing... It was most likely destined to another and will open for that person or people." Konan continued to sigh.

"Come on, Konan." Pein started in a unusual softer tone. "Let's go and continue to have a nice look around."

"Yea." Konan replied, trying to smile in return. "Still a nice but interesting trip."

They continued to walk around and stop in certain areas to look at a few more things and well worked on decorations. Konan just tried to shift the feather locket back out of her mind, no point in moping over it. She knew well enough that she couldn't and wouldn't be getting it, no matter how special it was to her... But Konan by this stage of her life was used to not getting everything she wanted and knew the sad truths of being let down. That was most likely the reason why she liked Pein so much... He never let her down... Always there for her and when she needed him. He was a very reliable partner too, when she'd been stuck or in trouble he would always appear and help her. She tried to be the same for him and at times she was but there was times like this when she felt that she needed him much more than he needed her... She did however enjoy looking at the lights and stuff genuinely, she hadn't done such a thing with anybody, including Pein, in so long. Of course she wouldn't admit to anyone though, she still had a reputation to uphold. The people had been annoying though... While walking around with Tobi and Pein the villagers, like usual, started gasping and bowing at them. Willing to do anything for them... How could people worship her without really knowing a thing about her?

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"I'm just popping to your room a moment to freshen up." Konan announced as they entered their place and threw her hat down onto the floor.

"Ok." Pein replied blankly. "I'm popping to our main discussion room, there's some things I would like to go through."

"See ya later!" Tobi said happily and bounced off to go somewhere else.

"He never tires..." Konan sighed as she watched him bounce off and then turned and headed to her 'temporary' room that she was currently sharing with.

Konan opened the door tiredly and gently slipped herself through the bedroom door and shut it after herself. She walked over to the bed and prepared to take her robe/cloak off for the moment, until she saw yet another piece of paper on the bed... She was hoping it was all over... Obviously not... Someone was really trying to push her buttons of annoyance!

"So much for the Pein thoughts..." Konan sighed to herself with annoyance. It meant it couldn't be from Tobi or Pein because they were just outside with her. It had to be someone else... Zetsu? He was acting creepier than usual earlier today... Good thing she was the one to come in... If Pein had come in and seen it, he could've really burst with annoyance. "What does 'he' want now? It's Christmas Eve tomorrow, not long to wait I guess... Better not be more threats or something that makes me gag." Konan said to herself.

She picked up the piece of paper off the top of the double bed and sat herself down before opening it. She opened it and started to read it out loud to herself.

_"Hello Konan..._

_Your 'Secret Santa' here. I think I'll tone it down for a while... Since you didn't seem to enjoy your last gift, tut. The best is always last though... Don't forget that._

_Roses are red._

_Konan you're blue but your flower a waiting to blossom with me... You'll bloom into something better than a paper flower._

_Secret Santa_

_Xxxxxxx"_

"A bit tame compared to the last lot of things but the 'blossoming' thing... Creepy. I swear, whoever is doing this better not come anywhere near me for like a month when I find out which one's this!" She cussed after reading...


	10. Pein POV

**Secret Santa**

**Happy Xmas 2007! This a mostly a Konan fic with a bit of Pein, my current favourite characters from Naruto that I like to write on, couldn't resist making my Xmas fanfiction for the year on them : ) This is most likely a couple part piece, it's to long as a whole one shot. Hope you enjoy this piece.**

**Konan finds a note for her talking about a secret Santa for her this year and thinks it's from Pein. Is it from Pein? Or someone else...?**

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I strode past in the corridor down towards mine and my partners private/ discussion room, if there was any of the other members that I actually past... I didn't bother to notice them. Like it matter! I'm the leader, I do whatever I feel like and when I feel like! And right now... I felt like being by myself in 'our' room and giving my mind a breather from all of this.

"Leader-Sama!" Someone called to me just as I reached the door to the room I desired.

I sighed and cussed under my breath before turning around and facing the bother. "What?" The roughness and annoyance could be heard through my voice with ease.

"You've got to be fucking kidding, Leader-Sama. You can't be thinking of sending me and Kakazu on yet another mission!?" Hidan complained and reached where I was standing.

"Why?" I replied simply, my blank face on as usual.

"Me and Kakazu have only just bloody come from one!" Hidan sneered with annoyance.

"What's the matter, Hidan?" I jabbed back. "Can't handle the pressure of the missions? Slowing down on us?"

"That's not what I fucking meant!" Hidan cussed with a massive annoyance, looking like he was going to explode on me.

"Then what do you mean?" I replied simply, what was his problem? He worked for this organisation and I was only making him and Kakazu pull their own weight.

"What I mean is that me and Kakazu have been on two missions this week while the other lot haven't barely done much as of recent. Why the hell do you keep sending us two out?" Hidan explained gruffly.

"Who I send out to do certain things is my business." I replied, now in a slight more annoyed voice. Was it any of his business? I was the leader. Besides... I can't let some of the other members go off on missions anyway... Not until the project is finished... Only the Hidan and Kakazu team are available to things.

"Whatever." Hidan hissed with anger. "But I'm not going till the seasons over."

"You do as your told." I stated, he doesn't get to pick what and where he does things.

"I said... I'm not fucking doing any other missions in the season." Hidan repeated with strict firmness towards me. "Send someone fucking else. I'm religious too! You either do that or find one of the other fucking teams to do it! Because I'm having time off!"

"Fine, Hidan. Whatever." I sighed finally, I've had enough of things today. I really don't need Hidan's cuss raid. Guess things can be held off for like 2 or 3 days... Only small missions anyway... The only problem is that Kakazu and Hidan are going to be more in the way now, they don't know about the project... And I don't want them too! Hidan would be a nightmare to deal with, along with Konan at the same time... "You won't do them. But after the season you are!" I insisted, I wasn't allowing this to be a permanent set back.

"Fine, whatever." Hidan replied, satisfied for now with the response. "Leader-Sama." He added and quickly bowed at me and walked off. At least he still showed some respect at times... Just doesn't show respect in any other form.

I cranked open the door and allowed myself in and walked over to one of the comfy sofas that was inside. Now that I was sat down, I breathed a sigh of relief. Most of the members knew this room was off limits to them, except for of course Konan. Me and Konan are the only one's that are here virtually all the time anyway. The others are often at other areas or bases. Time was limited after all... All of them knew the goal and it had to be reached, they all understand this, at least I hope.

"What am I going to do with them?..." I sighed to myself out loud, pressing my hand into my forehead. The sofa's comfy armrest stabilised my tired arm as I used it to stabilise my forehead. The Akatsuki means everything to me, I don't know about the others... But it does to me, really badly... I need the wars to stop forever, once and for all, no questions about it. They destroy so many lives... People think they solve things but they only make things worse than what it started. Konan and myself learnt that the hard way when we were children. Times were so hard and nobody even cared that they killed children. It's my mission to change it all, I'm not just doing it for me... I'm doing it for _her_ too. We need revenge.

"What are you thinking about?" I suddenly heard her delicate voice call out to me. I look up to see my blue haired partner standing before me and she soon sighed and sat herself on the opposite sofa from me and stared.

"Just thinking..." I reply simply.

"Nothing important?" She asked me.

"No... Nothing new in thought wise..." I sigh in return, I don't want to bring up wars and such. I didn't want to remind her of all the bad things that have happened in our unfortunate lives. She seemed like she had enough to think about as it is... Which is kind of caused by me... But I think it'll work out in the end. At least that's the way I'm to make it, that's right... I'll make it work. It _has _to work, I won't accept less.

"Ok..." Konan replied and leant herself back into the sofa, trying to get herself to relax.

"Something wrong?" I had to ask, she looked a bit bothered again. Damn, thought that the village trip would cool her down.

"Nothing." Konan replied blankly.

"Sure?"

"It's nothing." Konan now looked at me with annoyed slits in her eye's. She hated being asked in repeat. If she didn't want to say then there was no way she was going to discuss it with me. She did often like to keep her problems to herself, I noticed that quite a while ago... Sometimes I just wish she'd share with me more... I can tell she just doesn't want to bother me with them and wants to be strong, like me, but to be honest I would like to know what runs through her head. She's the only one I feel totally comfortable with and I'd like to make her feel 100 comfortable too. It'll be over soon...

I swear... If it's that Zetsu again. I have no idea what that plant is doing but he'd better cut it out! This is my project and not even any of the fellow members are going to stand in my way of this happening. I'm Pein, all the projects and things I want will happen, no matter what others think! What I want I will get.

"You're back quick." I comment simply.

"Quick? I took like 45 minutes." Konan replied with a bit of a stunned voice. "Have you been over thinking yourself again? That makes you lose the time."

"I guess..." I grunted back. Guess I do need to concentrate on what I was doing just a bit more... Or more like I had to stand and listen to Hidan's cuss raid for to long! Some members just really drive me nuts where they nag, fight, unhappy with everything... Why can some of them just be more at piece and get along with each other? Like myself and Konan. We don't fight, we've never gotten that upset from the other. Never left the other behind. "Do you think I should change bodies?" I finally asked. Konan had just been sat there staring at me, most likely wondering why I'm going off into my own deep minded thoughts.

"Change bodies?" Konan asked with a bit of a questioning face. "Why? Is there a intruder in our village?"

"No. Never mind... Just a thought..." I sighed in return. But it was more of a serious thought that I've been thinking of for this project. I didn't know whether to stay in Yahiko's body or not for this...

"Sure?" Konan asked again with a wearily face. I could understand why she was really questioning that question. I was very often in this body, it is my usual and common body and I only changed into any of the others when there are problems like intruders were coming into my village.

"No, honestly there's no intruder or anything like that. It was just a thought... Thought I'd have a breather out of this body." I reassured her and tried to explain without giving anything away.

"Ok... Yea I guess you could if you wanted." She sighed, now trying to close her eye's a little to try and get the desired relaxation. "You'd tell me if there was an intruder or anything anyway, huh?"

"You know I would." I stated, she's my partner. As if I'm going to ask or tell anybody else first!

Why would I be thinking of changing bodies for this project? Well... I've had considerations of doing so several times, each time I wanted to tell her... It's not that she hated the body I was in or anything but...

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_FLASHBACK_

_Her eye's widened in horror as she stared me full on. "Yahiko?..." She finally asked very slowly._

_"No." I replied softly and now totally opened my eye's to show the common and familiar swirl in them._

_"I can't believe you did this!" She frowned with anger clearly showing._

_"Konan... We don't need him..." I replied in a sigh, I knew she was going to hate this._

_"That was not your decision!" She shouted at me. She was much younger than what she was now, she didn't understand things as good as what she did now. "You can't just take people's bodies!"_

_"Why not?" I protested. "It wasn't like he really matter."_

_"He was our friend!" She snapped back with annoyance._

_That was the only time we fought really badly... We argued for ages... It took me ages to get her to trust me again after that and she always gave me a warning look every now and again afterwards, almost looking over her shoulder to make sure I wasn't going to do the same thing to her. Af if I'd do that! She mattered, he didn't! And the reason why I was considering changing bodies?_

_I leaned over like I did so often when we were sharing sleeping quarters. I could see that she was shaking with worry, at the time we didn't know what we were going to do with ourselves... Everyday was a struggle and we never knew what lay ahead... I rested my hand onto her shoulder, try and show her some form of comfort but she just shrugged away from me, knocking my hand off. "What's the matter?" I asked softly but in my casual blank tone._

_"Please don't..." Konan whispered hurtfully back at me._

_"Hmm...?" I pulled a questioning face._

_"Don't. I don't like to be touched by HIS hand." Konan replied in a firm voice._

_"I'm sorry..." I said quietly to her, it was one of the rare times I'd ever mentioned that ugly word. But I felt like I owed it to her, I made her bothered... _

_"..." She just sighed with sadness, I knew she hated our life and there wasn't much at this point that either of us could do. "I'll stay with you, you know." She said softly. "We have no one else... But each other."_

_"Yea... I don't know what I'd do without you by my side. But I do promise something Konan." I replied, still in a soft like voice._

_"Hmm?" Konan questioned back at me._

_"I promise our lives will be better." I tried to explain but certainty was in my voice, I knew our lives would change at some point. "And we'll do it together."_

_Konan just leaned her head over a little to look at me in the face, she just gave a slight smile to the comment and moved herself back into position._

_From then on we had never really argued or anything... We worked together to get where we are today. She seemed to have certain days when she didn't like me touching her while I was in this body, she was uncomfortable by this body. I could understand... She just thought of her old friend that's now dead... She felt creeped out by the thought of his 'dead' touch. Konan didn't mind working with me while I was in this body and such, she was only uncomfortable when it came to a personal level and even then she wasn't always bothered now... Only at times now, she'd gotten more used to this body. _

_For this reason I wasn't sure that I should finish this project in this body, maybe I should use a different one..._

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"Pein? Pein!?" Screamed a female voice at me.

"Hm...?" I finally replied slightly to see my female partner staring at me with question.

"What's with you?" She grunted. "You need to stop drifting off into your own world."

"Oh..." I replied simply. I was concentrating to much on the flashback... Must have looked like I'd zoned out of it or something... I really do need to stop over thinking so much that makes me do that... I totally lose track of things going on around me in the real reality. Na, it's _her_ that's making me act like this recently... I can't help it.

"What'd you think?" Konan asked and held up a paper branded kunai to me. "I've been trying to improve them, see whether they could be sharper and even more accurate."

"Looks better to me, Konan." I nodded while looking at it.

"Thanks." She replied simply, dropping the paper kunai now and started picking up more paper and continued to make more stuff.

I just watched in fascination as she continued to fold pieces of paper to make more paper creations. It relaxed her, which was a good thing at the moment, couldn't complain with that could I? Well, my face looked blank but my eye's most likely are showing the interest...

As for the feelings... I have a problem with expressing what I feel, especially through words. I guess the real feelings I've got for her now could be called... Well... Love. But it feels even deeper than that stupid word. What I really feel... It can't be expressed with a word. There is no word for this feeling. It's a newer kind of feeling though. It's like... I feel like my feelings have 'evolved' towards her. Before I just felt like we were best friends, the highest of best friends, and I was protective but now... I can honestly say it's... Love. Stupid words! I now look at her like I'm doing now and feel... Fluttering. I could never understand some other couples, saying they get bored and very angry with their partners but I've known her all my life and I could never be bored with her. I've also never been truly angry with her either. It feels like in my eye's she does everything perfectly, nothing could make me pure angry towards her. I long to have her close to me and put my lips on hers but not yet... I don't want to force her or anything and I'm trying to do this correctly. I don't want her to feel that she's being forced into anything she's not comfortable with, I know her very well. She's not nice to be around if she isn't comfortable and I don't want her in that way... All I know is... There's no one better and I won't feel this way with anyone else but her...


	11. It's A Zetsu Thing

**Secret Santa**

**Happy Xmas 2007! This a mostly a Konan fic with a bit of Pein, my current favourite characters from Naruto that I like to write on, couldn't resist making my Xmas fanfiction for the year on them : ) This is most likely a couple part piece, it's to long as a whole one shot. Hope you enjoy this piece.**

**Konan finds a note for her talking about a secret Santa for her this year and thinks it's from Pein. Is it from Pein? Or someone else...?**

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"Oh, just shut up and clean!" Barked the white side to the dark half.

**"Why don't you do that?" **The black half snapped back.

"Because all this blood thing... Was your idea!" The white side continued to snap back.

**"Oh! My idea now was it?" **Growled the dark part with annoyance. **"I didn't see you protesting the idea!"**

"I said it wasn't a smart one." The white part reminded. "What girl would like this kind of mess anyway?"

**"Well... I thought it would be her. After all she is the most lethal female I've ever met."**

"Well 'I' should've thought again. Stupid plan and stupid thought."

**"It was worth a try." **The black side tried to reason.

"It was a try that nearly got me caught." The white side reminded.

**"Ah but didn't, need I remind you." **The black part replied, feeling cocky. **"If they knew of what we're doing then someone surely would've said or commented something."**

"Hmm... Suppose..." Sighed the white part.

**"You need to let me relax a little bit more." **The black part grunted.

"It's hard to let myself relax, especially with doing this." It replied simply.

**"Hmm... Yea I guess... I mean... Is she really worth all this hassle?" **The dark side sighed and started to question.

"How can you say that!?" The white side gasped.

**"Well is she? I don't really need anyone else. All I need is me, myself and I." **He continued.

"Hmm... She's worth it." The white side decided.

**"How can you be so sure?" **The dark side continued to prod.

"Well, how can you be so sure yourself?" White side snapped back to himself. "If you were so far against her then you wouldn't be doing this."

**"Hehehe... No one knows me better than myself. I guess you're correct and got a point." **The black side almost laughed. **"A man's got need's I guess... And she is the best female I guess that I've ever laid my eye's on."**

"Really? I say your part is more of the lust kind."

**"So what?" **The black part snapped back hastily. **"Nothing wrong with lusting after a female."**

"Lusting and love are two different things."

**"Yea but what is love? It's nothing we, or should I say 'I', really know of."**

"And you've never wanted it?"

**"No. I haven't felt no need for such a emotion, it's a useless emotion and a emotion that a shinobi can do without." **The black side spat in disgust to the thought of that kind of word.

"It's lonely without it though..." The white side finally sighed.

**"..." **For once the cheeky black part didn't have a response for that comment. It proved that even the black side could feel just as deeply as the other side. Not that he'd ever admit such a thing.

Zetsu had been working in Konan's bathroom for hours now and was still not really any closer to cleaning the stupid thing. Then again he was spending a lot of time arguing with himself, mostly over each others side of feelings. While both differed in thoughts it was clear that both sides felt something for Konan. Whether it was exactly love... They were both unsure.

**"Hmm! I don't know about you but I'm feeling fed up." **The black side grunted with annoyance.

"With cleaning?" The white part sighed with question.

**"You know what I mean?" **The dark part continued to grunt.

"No... I don't." The white side snapped back. "But I created this mess so both of us are going to have clean our failed plan."

**"Enough about the cleaning!" **The dark side snapped.

"...?"

**"Just fed up." **He continued to snipe. **"With her sometimes. It's always Pein this and Pein that with her. What's so damn special about him?"**

"Well he is her partner... She's bound to go with him everywhere and such." The white side now tried to reason.

**"Yea but at the moment it's only friendship. He wants to make it more, can't believe she hasn't seen it for herself. Pein is so obvious with that look in his eye." **He complained.

"Is that the only reason why you want to show interest in her?" The white side asked his black side. "Because the leader has finally decided to see her as more than just a friend?"

**"No... I don't know... All I know is on my half I'm feeling jealousy pangs." **The black side sighed in defeat. **"Why does should he get such a flower? He's nothing special."**

"They have known each other virtually all their lives." The white side reminded. "No one has better history than them two."

**"History is shit. It doesn't mean you need to get together or develop feelings or anything." **The black side snapped back. **"More than likely it should just let them have like a brother and sister relationship."**

"I don't think their relationship has ever been like a real brother and sister relationship..."

**"Then what would you call it?"**

"... Hm... Definitely a best friend kind of relationship." The white side pondered. "Hard to say... Their relationship really is on like... Another level. Doesn't really have wording for it. I'm guessing Pein's feelings have just deepened and evolved from that starting point. Took him long enough though."

**"Yea, it did. Whenever Konan tried to even show a bit of affection to Pein in the past he didn't really respond in that way. Her feelings were so hurt... I hated him for having to see her like that." **

"Ah so you've been paying attention too, huh?" The white side smirked.

**"Shut up." **The black side frowned at his other half.

"And so you should, anyway. We're one of the oldest members in the Akatsuki, no one else should know the other members better than us." The white side continued.

**"Only one of the oldest members." **The black side reminded.

"Yea but do any of the others have our skills? None of the others know each other like we do, especially from our 'sneaking' skills." The white one reminded.

**"Let's not forget we're better ranked than most of the others here." **The black side added with a cocky smirk for himself.

"True." The white side smirked with his other half. He was no real leader of Akatsuki but he was higher than most, most had to report to him and such. However he obviously wasn't high ranked enough to call the Leader by his first name to his face. None of the others really knew the Leader's name but he did. However when talking to Pein himself or any of the other members he wasn't aloud to call him nothing else but the Leader really. Only Konan got the personal privilege to calling him by his real name, Konan got many privileges that the others weren't aloud.

**"Well it's obvious isn't it?"**

"What is?"

**"Who's Pein's favourite."**

"Well that's no secret to any of the members. His attitude can be totally different with her and Konan could get away with blue murder with him." The white one replied in a duh voice.

**"Ok, Mister Smarty Ass. I've mentioned some of my feelings, what about you then?" **The black side prodded.

"Quit talking to me like we're not the same person." The white side snapped.

**"We might be in the same body and such but as you know we've both got such massively different views on virtually everything. Have you actually got feelings for this girl? After all, you are supposed to be the much 'nicer' side." **The black side countered.

"Well of course I'm having... Feelings for her..." The white side finally sighed. "If you're having feelings for her then I'm going to be having her."

**"Mines newish, you?" **The black one continued. **"I've always respected Konan and such, always liked her."**

"I've had strong feelings for her ever since we met..." The white part side sighed.

**"But that was many years ago! Why wasn't this discussed!?" **The black side started to yell in disbelief.

"I didn't want to." The white side of Zetsu replied simply. "It started out as like a physical attraction alone but... I started liking her more and more for like other reasons..."

**"I can't believe we haven't had this discussion before now!" **The dark side pouted with amazement.

"Was it just me then? That had a any feelings for her close to the beginning of being in this organisation?" The white side questioned.

**"... Not sure..."**

"Not sure!"

**"Well... I've never been one to discuss feelings and by the looks of it you are the same way." **The black half snapped in return. **"And what do you mean by 'other reasons'? You like her for more than looks?"**

"Ha, not all of us like things because of the way it looks." The white side smirked.

**"What else is there?" **The black side laughed back, as a joke.

"Fine one you are." The white side continued to smirk back.

**"Hmm..."**

"I like virtually everything I've seen about her... Those eye's... The stunning and one of a kind shade of blue hair... The way she moves... That firm and blunt voice and stare that she can have... Even the way she says 'Go away, Zetsu, you plant' sounds like music to my ears..." The white part sighed.

**"Great..." **The black part sighed with annoyance.

"Huh?" The white side pulled a questioning face.

**"My other part is losing it!" **The black side yelled in frustration.

"Shut up." The white part sneered. "It's better than you're stupid 'lusting'."

**"Ha, doubt it. Lusting doesn't make you lose your mind. Besides you say all the those things but doesn't mean you have any real 'love' for her." **The dark side shot back.

"I know..." The white part sighed with disappointment. "It could be just a very long long crush or infatuation... Maybe we shouldn't bother the Pein project anymore..."

**"Huh?! Why!? Why not!?" **The black side screamed at his other half.

"Pein looks like he's truly all for her, like there's no one else out there for him. And we don't seem sincere feelings for her, well maybe me but not you." The white half tried to explain lightly.

**"I fed up with Pein! I say we rock his boat for once, instead of letting him have anything and everything! I mean... If you're feelings end up being true could you live with having to put up with seeing her with him all the time and everyday?" **The black side tried to reason with the white side.

"Hmm... Hard to say... But Pein's going to be mad at us when he realises..." The white side pointed out.

**"I really couldn't care less." **The black side hissed.

"But what happens if Konan doesn't like us back? She hasn't given us a indication that she thinks of me as more than a team mate. And quite often she can be a harsh one at that!" The white half continued to raise the warnings of it back firing.

**"She'll like us when she really gets to know us, we'll make her like us and..."**

"And it's called being really nice to her too." The white side shot.

**"What's that supposed to mean?!" **The black side sneered.

"Come on. You are so rude and horrid at times."

**"Whatever." **The black side hissed with annoyance. **"I guess... I'd try harder... Not promising anything! But..."**

"Good."

**"I'll just try and be honest."**

"Even that might be a bit to much at times." The white side joked and just received a glare from the other half of the face.

**"I can be sweet if I want to be." **He snapped back. **"So we carrying this thing on?"**

"Yea. I guess... You've got a point. I'm sick of seeing Pein having and getting anything and everything he's after. Either that or we'll just let Konan decide..." The white side commented.

**"What do mean? You going to tell her right out or something?" **The black side questioned in confusion.

"Nope, just continue what we're doing but... Bump it up to maybe tomorrow or something, or whenever the suitable timing comes." The white side replied.

**"Plan please." **The dark side asked simply.

"Just continue what we've had planned."

**"Then how is she going to 'pick'?" **The dark half asked, confused.

"Well she just won't know that she's picking." The white half smirked. "We'll beat him to the punch before he can, hopefully might even throw him off."

**"Hmm... Not bad."**

"And we're NOT forcing anything, understand?" The white side said firmly.

**"Forcing? Me?" **The dark half joked and smirked.

"Mean it. No means no, if she's not interested then we just leave it." The white sides tone not easing.

**"And what? You'd just let her walk away from us? Especially with your side of feelings and all." **The dark side gasped.

"I'd rather see her happy than miserable. Especially if my feelings aren't true... I wont know till..."

**"... The kiss?..."**

"Took the words right out of our mouth..." The white side grinned. "Well I won't know till then..."

**"And if it isn't right?"**

"Both of us will have to discuss it and if it isn't right... We'll let her go."

**"You know what?"**

"What?"

**"You're getting to soft with your age!" **The dark side giving a massive grin.

"Shut up and clean!" Snapped the white side and both got on with clearing up the bathroom.


	12. Tobi Knows It All: Part 2

**Secret Santa**

**Happy Xmas 2007! This a mostly a Konan fic with a bit of Pein, my current favourite characters from Naruto that I like to write on, couldn't resist making my Xmas fanfiction for the year on them : ) This is most likely a couple part piece, it's to long as a whole one shot. Hope you enjoy this piece.**

**Konan finds a note for her talking about a secret Santa for her this year and thinks it's from Pein. Is it from Pein? Or someone else...?**

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Pein briskly walked through the streets of the raining village that he basically controlled. After a few minutes of quick walking he reached his destination, his secretive room that held a few bodies that he loved to use and control. It didn't take Pein long to reach there, it was actually very close the Akatsuki Rain Village base. It needed to be really, you never could be sure of when the village was going to receive a intruder or he was going to be attacked and such. He needed his bodies close by, just in case of things going wrong or they were just purely needed.

"Hmmm..." Pein sighed to himself as he walked slowly down the thin corridor that stored the bodies. He looked at each one with deep thought, which one was going to be the most suitable? "I need to get this body off." He added to himself as he still observed the bodies. He finally came to a decision that he didn't want to stay in this body, he knew it wouldn't be a good choice for what he was planning. Konan wouldn't really like it, she didn't like much of the personal side of their relationship while he was in this body, let alone him wanting to be intimate and be sweet with her.

"Better pick one." Pein sighed to himself. It was getting to be late, it was already darkening early when himself, Konan and Tobi were out so it was getting to be really late now. He didn't want to be there all night. Pein stopped walking up and down the corridor and looked to the side of him and made his decision. "The summoner body will do for now." He stated and laid himself into the empty machine that was for Yahiko's body and got ready for the body switch.

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Pein walked tiredly into the organisations base and just slammed the front door behind him, couldn't be bothered to be sneaking or anything. The body change over took it's fair amount of energy out of him and since it had been a long day already he really needed some rest. He felt like he'd already done a million and one things in that one day...

"Ah, changed bodies then, huh?" Came a common voice and a body approached him.

"What about it?" Pein demanded grumpily.

"Just saying... No need to get your underwear in a twist." It replied in a mocking voice.

"Haven't you had enough of a time annoying me for the day, huh Tobi? Or should I call you by your direct name? Madara." Pein sneered back. He felt that he'd had to put up with enough for today, Tobi all by himself was enough to annoy him for a lifetime. He didn't want Tobi, or Madara as he's also known as, to know but looks like Tobi had been doing some sneaking around of his own.

"No need to get so snippy." Tobi replied in a cocky voice. "Let's take to somewhere more private." He added with suggestion.

"Why? I thought you'd made yourself pretty clear earlier in the evening on what you wanted to say." Pein asked with wonder.

"Well if you don't want information..." Tobi sighed in a all knowing kind of voice. Giving Pein a little smirk in addition to it. It was plainly obvious that he wasn't really playing with him because he wasn't playing the 'I'm So Innocent' Tobi character. When Tobi was being his real self, he usually meant business or was at least a little serious on what he had to say.

"Information?" Pein questioned, now giving Tobi a very stern face.

"Let's go to my room." Tobi suggested briskly.

"Won't Deidara be hanging around in there or anything?" Pein continued to question. Tobi shared a room with Deidara and Deidara was usually the main one to hang out in that combo room. Tobi was often going around and such, usually saying he didn't like to be cooped up like his partner did.

"Na." Tobi replied simply. "Deidara gone out for a bit, something about blowing things up. He's in that mood, better taking it outside than being in here."

"He better have taken his hat and better not be doing this 'blowing up' in the village, last thing I need." Pein sighed with annoyance.

"He did and Deidara's been here long enough to understand never to attack this village, this is most likely the only village he wouldn't attack or cause destruction too." Tobi sighed in reply and motioned for both of them to go to his and Deidara's room.

"True." Pein replied simply and nodded and followed Tobi. "Better make this quick, it's late."

"Yes, it is." Tobi nodded in agreement as he continued to walk along. "We wouldn't want you to be separated from Konan for to long, huh?"

"Cool it on that." Pein warned firmly, that was his private business and didn't want others commenting or butting in on it.

"Sorry, didn't know you were so touchy." Tobi sighed.

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"Let's get this over and done with." Pein commented briskly as he sat down on a chair in Tobi's room.

"Yes, let's. I do have other and better things to think about too." Tobi replied slyly as he sat himself down on his own bed.

"What's this about Tobi?" Pein asked straight out, showing that he wasn't kidding about acting slow on this. He'd had a long enough day as it is. "We got a major snag in our plans or something?"

"Oh no, nothing like that." Tobi shook his head.

"Then what? It's got nothing to do with Akatsuki?" Pein continued to demand with questions.

"Oh it does, just not the whole of it." Tobi replied simply.

"...?" Pein just pulled a questioning face.

"It's about your 'project'."

"What about it? You already stated your feelings about that while we were out."

"Yea and I still go by what I said there. I'm fine with you and Konan having a 'private' relationship as long as it doesn't interfere with our plans and business." Tobi nodded.

"And I've said it won't. Private means private, it won't be seen much since we're already partners anyway. It's upping our partnership." Pein restated what he mentioned already early. "But I thought we had an understanding earlier. Why repeating?"

"I'm fine with that. Sweet even. It's just I've been sneaking around since we've gotten back from our evening trip and came across something." Tobi continued.

"Getting to be a real Zetsu thing, aren't you?" Pein joked.

"Nothing wrong with knowing things that you're uncertain about." Tobi corrected, smirking a little from Pein's little joke. "Besides, I never was one that liked being left out of things and not being told information."

"Go on then." Pein insisted, wanting to know the findings like now.

"Well I was spying on Zetsu while he was still cleaning your partner's bathroom, which he should too since he created that horrid mess. And I heard him arguing with himself over the 'project' and Konan situation." Tobi started to explain. "I thought I should let you know... Zetsu's against your project going forward and being successful."

"I knew it!" Pein gasped with annoyance and then looked back up at Tobi who just staring at him plainly. "I was suspicious that he was up to something." Pein added with his trademark blank face.

"Yea well... He was kind of obvious with making his own parts into your 'project'." Tobi nodded. "Adding wording into the notes was a start and adding his personal touch on that gift was kind of a give away. Not to mention gross."

"Yea well... I don't know what he was thinking with that gift. There'd be no way in hell Konan would ever like that kind of 'gift'. It looked more like a threat." Pein continued to comment. "Well thanks for clearing my thoughts up on that."

"Not going to let me finish?" Tobi sighed.

"Fine." Pein grunted.

"You really need to slow down, you know that?" Tobi tutted at Pein like he was scolding a child for being to hasty.

"And any other day I would but I've been non stop on the go all day and I now want the day over." Pein shot back.

"Fine fine." Tobi sighed, holding up his hands as if showing some defence. He could see Pein has had a rough day and decided to not push him much more, might bite his head literally. He let himself run into the ground to much, should take care of himself like he does with his 'project', he'd then be in a better state. "I also thought you should know that Zetsu's planning things too."

"Planning? Planning what kind of things?" Pein quizzed with a questioning face.

"Planning as in he's planning on making a move on Konan." Tobi answered with a concerned look on his face.

"Why is he doing this? Konan's never shown his much of anything, sometimes can even be rude at him." Pein sighed with annoyance.

"He 'likes' her I guess." Tobi sighed with him.

"Zetsu doesn't usually 'like' anybody, he usually don't like really anybody around him, finds it distracting and such." Pein corrected Tobi. "What's he going to do?"

"Well the white sides being pretty much nice like usual but the dark one is getting to sneaky for it's own good." Tobi replied. "Not saying that he loves Konan though, from what he was saying he isn't sure of that himself, neither side. The black side was getting pretty ratty though, something about not wanting you to get everything all the time. So I'm not totally sure whether it's just a revenge thing in someway, especially with the black side. The white one sounded like he had a very bad and long term crush but wasn't sure of himself."

"Zetsu's black side just says bad about everybody though." Pein corrected.

"True, that black part really doesn't like other people. Can be loyal most of the time with the help of the white side..." Tobi nodded. "Maybe this is even him having some kind of a hissy fit in some way, he usually doesn't act the way he has recently. Usually don't have these kinds of problems with him and he could be relied on."

"Yea, that's why he was my first choice for being formal leader of the project, usually he's so reliable and he's one of the oldest and most respected here." Pein agreed. "Some parts really isn't him usually... Maybe he is having a foul mood with himself."

"Don't know." Tobi shrugged with a faint sight of nodding.

"Well... Whatever. Getting Konan involved in this is getting ridicous, at this rate we're not going to even be able to work with each other after all of this." Pein commented. "We need to act like a team, not back stabbing each other."

"Well by the looks of it there was no way in hell that Zetsu was going to let his feelings slip. And most likely just got annoyed and more when he heard of your 'project' and feeling that he was getting bitter. However I don't think he has the same feelings for Konan like you do..." Tobi replied and explained what he thought.

"Well... He just needs to back off." Pein hissed with closely slit eyes.

"Wew, now look who's protective!" Tobi joked at Pein response.

"Don't start Tobi." Pein warned firmly. "So if he's not sure of himself, why is he going for the punch then? Purely out of spite?"

"Yea, what he meant by beating you to the punch was like he was going to try and get a kiss in on Konan before you. And he was indicating that the kiss was going to be like a test." Tobi explained.

"Test?" Pein frowned. "Konan's a person, not a test."

"I know, I know. No need to be so defensive." Tobi sighed. "He isn't treating her like a test, the kiss he was going to do was to see whether he really had feelings for her. Like wanting to be sure of himself..."

"When was he going to be doing this?" Pein demanded.

"Don't know." Tobi replied simply.

"Why? I thought you were spying on him good."

"Well I don't think he knew when he was going to do it either." Tobi replied. "Just said whenever it was the right time, basically."

"Hmm..." Pein just frowned and kept a serious face on.

"I think you should speak with him, like first thing in the morning." Tobi suggested.

"Yea... Maybe it would make him come to his senses... That sounds so unlike him. Most likely just him being in a off mood." Pein nodded and reasoned.

"Worth a try." Tobi agreed.

"I'm going. Thanks for the information, Madara." Pein thanked and got up to go. "Why did you want to help me...?" He asked slowly when he'd reached the bedroom door and was about to leave.

"I think you and her are correct for each other." Tobi replied simply. "I can also tell that your feelings are true and Zetsu's just confused. Just because I'm to horrid to ever have such feelings for another doesn't mean I wouldn't like to see it on you two." With that Tobi let out a little giggle at the end.

"What?" Pein asked to the giggle.

"It's evil love really." Tobi responded, still giggling a little.

"Huh?" Pein was confused on what Tobi was saying.

"You and Konan. You're both evil, evil people like us don't fall in love or barely like anybody. So both of you falling in love is like making it so special and makes it like evil love. Guess evil loves others that's evil and on it's own level, hehehe." Tobi explained while still giggling a little.

"Ha... Suppose you can put it like that." Pein smirked. "But Konan hasn't said she's liked me."

"You're blind." Tobi stated simply, looking bluntly at Pein, who was still standing by the closed bedroom door.

"Excuse me." Pein shot back, giving Tobi a look back asking him what he meant by that.

"Pein, she dropped hints like crazy before you showed her any real interest." Tobi spluttered, surprised that Pein didn't have any idea of this.

"Nonsense. I've always paid good attention to Konan, she's my partner and no one's better." Pein frowned back.

"Yea but at that point I'm guessing your feelings hadn't 'evolved' at that point and just saw her as a best friend and partner, clouding your vision." Tobi explained. "But after certain points she just died those signs out. Got bored and decided to just keep the precious relationship that you two already got. I'm guessing that's the reason for the body change though... She's not fond of the other one that you're commonly in."

"How do you know all this stuff?" Pein continued to frown. "You seem to know all the in's and out's of things."

"The eye's... I see all, Pein, and I'm no idiot." Tobi replied sternly.

"Then I'm glad to have you on my side then, at least." Pein sighed finally, nothing gets past Tobi obviously. Tobi just smiled and watched Pein leave the bedroom.

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"Oh, Pein. You're finally back." Konan announced and looked up at him. She was sitting on the floor of the bedroom that she was now currently sharing with her partner, had gone back to doing her origami. "You've changed bodies..." Konan was quick to observe, looking at the replaced body up and down. Hadn't seen him wearing that body in a while.

"Yea... I felt like having a breather from the other body, remember?" Pein replied simply and walked over and sat on the double bed, keeping his eye's on her.

"Yea..." Konan replied and returned her attention to her origami, which she was creating into many different things. Practice makes perfect, at least in her mind.

"What are you doing still up? It's getting late and we've had a long day." Pein asked, almost demanding it from her.

"I just felt like waiting up for you..." Konan answered softly and looked back up at her partner.

"I said you could carry on to bed and not wait up for me." Pein reminded.

"Sorry..." Konan sighed, she didn't want to annoy him.

Pein's face lightened after Konan's apology, making him realise he was sounding a little stupid and mean, plus bossy. "No, I'm sorry. It was just that I didn't want you losing sleep over me."

"I just felt like waiting up for you... Feel more comfortable with you. Especially with me not being in my own room." Konan continued in a soft voice.

"Well you want to go to sleep now? I don't know about you but I'm really tired." Pein asked, taking off his Akatsuki cloak and started putting himself into the bed.

"Yea..." Konan yawned and got up off the floor. She had already changed into her night clothes and climbed into the bed with Pein. Pein quickly got up and switched off the light and pushed himself back into the double bed. "Night." Konan said to him.

Pein wrapped his arms around her waist again and pulled himself close to her from behind.

"Want to feel comfortable again?" Konan asked simply, she remembered now that he did this for comfort and it made him feel at ease with her. It was just one of those things they did together at night time, since they were kids and the wars and all they had is each other.

"Yes... Night." Pein whispered softly into her ear. Konan shut her eye's and started to drift into a comfortable sleep. While her partner that lay right behind her kept his swirl eye's open, thinking about things...


	13. Coming To A Head

**Secret Santa**

**Happy Xmas 2007! This a mostly a Konan fic with a bit of Pein, my current favourite characters from Naruto that I like to write on, couldn't resist making my Xmas fanfiction for the year on them : ) This is most likely a couple part piece, it's to long as a whole one shot. Hope you enjoy this piece.**

**Konan finds a note for her talking about a secret Santa for her this year and thinks it's from Pein. Is it from Pein? Or someone else...?**

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Konan started to rustle in the big double bed and started to awaken from her casual deep sleep. She was soon snapped awake when she realised that she couldn't feel Pein's arms around her waist and flung an arm behind her and couldn't feel him in the bed at all. "Pein?..." Konan questioned quietly to herself, still a bit half asleep. The blue haired girl tiredly sat up in the bed and looked over at Pein's side of the bed to realise he wasn't there at all. Her head quickly flicked to the side table on her side of the bedroom and she looked at the clock. _6.05AM. _The clocks green lighting shouted. It was a common time for her to wake up, she was always an early waker and always got up before everyone else did in the organisation. She was just a morning person. When Konan and Pein had first been in the organisation they shared a room like this... He was usually the one to be bothered by her for waking early. Usually took quite a bit of shaking to wake him up and he could be ratty with it. But in turn the organisation got bigger, she was high ranked and getting older and thought it would be best that she had a room to herself, she needed some privacy in this nearly all male place.

"Pein?!" Konan called, just loud enough to be heard everywhere in the Pein combo but didn't receive a reply. "Where could he have gone?" Konan asked herself. Pein never woke that early, he was also pretty tired from yesterday too and thought he'd try to stay in bed for as long as he could. "Hope nothing's happened while I've been asleep..." Konan sighed, things happened at all times.

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"Where is that stupid plant!?" Pein huffed to himself as he wandered around and gone through virtually all the rooms in the place. He opened the door to what was usually Konan's room but of course was abandoned for the moment. Maybe Zetsu had come in here... Start work early maybe? Seemed unlikely but he couldn't find Zetsu anywhere else, including Zetsu's room. Zetsu had to be awake... He wasn't in his room or anything, so he couldn't be asleep.

"Zetsu?" Pein questioned as he walked into Konan's room but there was no Zetsu to be seen in the regular bedroom part. Pein walked over to the bathroom door and slowly opened it and peered inside. Nope... The bathroom didn't look that clean either... Had Zetsu even been really trying to clean up the bathroom? He hadn't done much for a day's worth of work... The disgusting half eaten body was still in the bathtub, gross... Why would Zetsu like that for anybody?

"..." Pein let out a slight annoyed sigh. Why can't Zetsu just be loyal and do as he's told? But then again that was Zetsu all over, he most likely couldn't even be loyal to himself. Pein turned on his heel and left, walking back through Konan's bedroom part and left her room totally. Pein was just about to give up and go back to his room to see Konan when he spotted Kakazu in the group room and wondered what he was doing up so early.

"Leader-Sama." Kakazu greeted formally when he quickly saw the Leader now in the group room.

"Kakazu." Pein replied formally and nodded. "What are you doing up so early?"

"Counting money." Kakazu replied simply and showed the bundles of cash he had near him.

"Should've known..." Pein sighed, what else would've gotten Kakazu up so early? He only did things for money, nothing else mattered to the bloke.

"Well I couldn't go back to sleep. Hidan woke me up early with his stupid cussing, he was getting ready for some stupid ritual." Kakazu continued to comment.

"Hidan has one at this time in the morning?" Pein questioned.

"He apparently does at this time of the year, with the season and all." Kakazu explained roughly. "Anyway, he woke me and I couldn't damn well go back to sleep. I couldn't think of anything else better to do with my time." Kakazu was by now wondering what the Leader was doing awake so early but knew better than to question the Leader. None of the members did, it was a well known fact that only Konan, his partner, could ever question him. He was personally surprised that the Leader had even listened to Hidan's ranting and aloud them the few days off.

"Have you seen Zetsu around?" Pein asked dryly. "I couldn't find him in his room."

"Oh yea." Kakazu sighed. "Saw him a bit ago. He told me to tell you that he had a bit of scouting to do, found something he was really interested in looking into."

"Oh..." Pein just replied, not knowing how to respond to that. Scouting? Why would he be scouting all by himself? Pein hadn't given him very much stuff to be scouting for.

"He said it wouldn't take very long." Kakazu added, now looking back at his money. "He just wanted to make an early start so he's not out long for it."

"Ok." Pein responded simply and turned to leave. He might as well head back to his room and see Konan then.

"Leader-Sama." Kakazu bowed slightly in respect and resumed back to counting his cash.

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"Konan?" Pein called when he entered 'their' temporary room. Just as he thought, he knew she'd be up by now. She always was an early riser and it had already clocked by her casual time for getting up. He walked over to the double bed and saw Konan was already up and had cleaned up the bed and made it look neat. Pein walked around the room and checked the bathroom but was left with a question mark in his mind because he couldn't see his lovely female partner anywhere. Then he noticed a hand written note on the bedroom table on Konan's side. Pein walked over briskly and snatched it up to read.

_Pein,_

_Gone out for a bit, clear my head. Gone to the centre of the village, have a look around, maybe do a little shopping... Don't worry about the rain getting on me, I'm sure I'll be fine and won't have to use any of my paper attacks if I do get bothered. I've taken my hat and such, so I won't get that wet anyway... Be back in a bit._

_Konan_

Pein set the note down, wasn't sure he was happy or not with what he'd just read. With the Zetsu thing going on, he'd have preferred that Konan was totally with him, he'd have felt more comfortable if she was. But he couldn't very well turn around and say that to her though, then she would definitely know somethings wrong and might give away his project.

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Everyone in the streets followed each other and did continuous bowing. A few poking others because they felt that they should be doing the same and there was a few whisperings and all of them looking on with a look of awe.

_"Yes, that's her."_

_"That's God's Angel, show some respect."_

_"She's amazing! Just looking at her is amazing!"_

Konan just did her best to ignore it, she was way used to this sort of things. She was used to all the people knowing her name, saying amazing stuff about her, bowing at her and just purely staring at her in awe and amazement. To them there was no one better than her, well other than maybe her partner Pein, who she was an angel too.

It was now quite a tad later, roughly 7.45AM now. Most people were up early and opening their shops. Many people had come into the centre of the village to do some last minute shopping, for Christmas Day tomorrow. All looking so excited... She even overheard some praising her for showing up for the 'season', saying it wouldn't be Christmas without a real angel. Konan decided not to be in there to long because Pein would be worried about her.

"Konan!" Called a voice.

Konan just ignored the voice at first, she just put the voice down to some people in the crowds wanting her attention. It wouldn't be a first... There was a fair amount of people that'd love her full attention but Konan knew all to well that she could only ever trust herself and Pein, so there was no point listening to what others wanted to say to her. Konan soon put on a serious frown when the calling voice wouldn't go away, what was this person's problem? Everyone knew not to bother the angel, there were virtually rules of no bothering her or touching her, not unless that's what she desired.

"Konan! Hello?!" It continued from behind her.

"What?!" Konan demanded and swung herself around to see who was annoying her.

"Konan... Didn't mean to annoy you..." The voice responded and Konan quickly realised why the person had been bothering her. It was Zetsu, one of her own fellow members, he was alright to bother her. The rules had nothing on the other members of the organisation.

"Oh... Zetsu..." Konan sighed, not totally sure that she was actually happy to see him. After his little attitude yesterday, she wasn't really happy to hear from him. "A surprise to see you here..."

"Why's that?" The white side asked politely.

"It's just quite early... That's all. None of you are usually up early, didn't think today would be any different." Konan replied basically.

"Yea well... I just wanted to have an early start... Not that anyone could sleep through Hidan's noise anyway." The white continued to comment.

"Hidan was up already?" Konan questioned.

**"Yea! Getting ready to do those stupid little rituals that he does. Who cares whether it's the season or not!?" **The black side sneered.

"Well if that's what he wants or needs to do then... He should just do it." Konan replied blankly. "What are you doing out here?"

"Just decided to come out for a look around the village." The white side answered.

**"Shouldn't have bothered! All I'm getting is getting wet! Wish Pein would stop this rain at times." **The dark side added it's own opinion.

"Ah." Konan sighed. "But that's why it's called the _rain _village."

**"You must be used to all this rain by now." **The black side commented.

"Why's that?" Konan frowned.

"Well you were born in this country, weren't you?" The white side reminded.

"Yea... I guess..."

**"Both you and Pein were born here, weren't you?" **The black side continued. Zetsu was starting to have that look in his face again, the same as the day before. **"Were you born around the same time?"**

"What's with the questions, Zetsu?" Konan frowned, not liking the look he was giving her and she hated talking about her childhood. It was such a horrid one... As if she wanted to be reminded of it!

"Just wondering, that was all." The white side smiled sickeningly sweet at her again.

"Well don't." Konan shot back.

**"No need to get so defensive." **The black side smirked at her.

"Yea Konan. I just wanted to know a little more about you." The white side added. "I like to know some more things about you. You interest me."

"I'm going shopping now." With that Konan spun on her heel and started to get ready to walk off, she didn't really want to spend that much time with Zetsu. She didn't want to continue the route of their conversation, he was poking around to much at her before private life. The one that she shared privately with Pein...

"Hey!" Konan shouted when she felt Zetsu quickly and sharply grab her wrist. Stopping her from moving forward and away from him. "Don't touch me, Zetsu!"

"I'm going with you." The white side said firmly.

**"It's not really safe out here... Especially for a girl like you." **The black side smirked, looking down at Konan, who was much smaller than himself.

"I can look after myself." Konan shot back.

**"I insist." **The black side replied firmly, now pulling her closer to him.

"You can't look after yourself much in this rain, can you?" The white side added, now whispering it in her ear. He had pulled her totally to him, now. "You can't use your attacks, it weakens you. Every second your out here... You're weakened."

"Zetsu..." Konan sighed in extreme worry, her eye's now widened. What was Zetsu doing? She hated being touched, he knew this. Zetsu just wrapped both his arms protectively around her and leaned forward so the rain was dripping on him, not her...


End file.
